Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 51,228 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $779,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 13.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.2% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,186,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 50.9% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays cut 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 report on Wednesday, March 26th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $260.75 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $277.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

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.