Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 84.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 31,105 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $299.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $33.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.