Invesco Ltd. Acquires 30,837 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $374,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,158,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,991,000 after acquiring an additional 29,350 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $329.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $337.18 and a 200-day moving average of $294.58.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $357.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.47.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total value of $735,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,632.64. This trade represents a 67.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.