Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 11,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,351,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction 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 approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.7 %

ROK opened at $294.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

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.