Quilter Plc Purchases 19,818 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Quilter Plc increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 331,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 19,818 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation makes up approximately 1.9% of Quilter Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $94,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 238.8% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. InTrack Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 2,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.27 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $304.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $285.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.97.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation Profile

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.