Bailard Inc. Buys 596 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,658,000 after acquiring an additional 294,337 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after buying an additional 172,577 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,275,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 484,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $139,247,000 after purchasing an additional 127,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,294.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 127,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,560,000 after purchasing an additional 118,721 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $277.40. 602,876 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,019,294. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.89.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at $344,820.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

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.