Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Lessened by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $287.06 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $287.58 and its 200-day moving average is $274.10.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

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.