Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Sells 147,674 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 98.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 147,674 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $252.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.17 and a 200-day moving average of $273.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.11.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,923 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company 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.