UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd decreased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 243,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,352 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $69,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,222,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 8.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $269.06 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $279.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.