Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total value of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $281.42 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $283.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $252.11 and a fifty-two week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

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.