AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Buys Shares of 40,113 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,470,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $288.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.