Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Invests $337,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROK. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $269.06 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $279.76 and a 200-day moving average of $278.72. 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 capitalization of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.