Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $294.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $286.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued 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%.

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.