Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,845 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $17,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE ROK opened at $268.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $279.51 and a 200-day moving average of $278.65.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 presently 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.