Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Acquires 38 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.3 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $286.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The company has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,707 shares of company stock valued at $10,933,215 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.