Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 96.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 188,113 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 357.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 37,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,643,000 after acquiring an additional 29,105 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 181.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $299.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 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 simple moving average of $252.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.02.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $201.00 to $271.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 939 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.24, for a total transaction of $285,681.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 983 shares in the company, valued at $299,067.92. This trade represents a 48.86% 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 Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,435. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.