Royal Bank of Canada Trims Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 241,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,596 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $62,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $576,000. Night Squared LP purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $3,709,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 52.2% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $2,824,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 84.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 147,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,152,000 after buying an additional 67,725 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,711 shares in the company, valued at $4,147,726.41. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,445 shares of company stock valued at $3,267,779 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ROK opened at $341.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $345.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.95. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

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.