Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.46% of Rockwell Automation worth $147,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 13,744 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during 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 worth $303,041,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.6 %

ROK opened at $261.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $281.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.78.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents 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. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.