Man Group plc Has $13.87 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,737 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $308.89 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $310.78. The stock has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $255.37 and its 200-day moving average is $275.07.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,839 shares of company stock worth $2,014,256. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.37.

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.