National Pension Service Has $39.93 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

National Pension Service cut its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 54.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 139,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 167,122 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $39,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $287.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares in the company, valued at $23,825,271.03. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.