Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 3,921 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,921 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $16,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Amundi grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,887,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $32,532,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 514,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,682,000 after purchasing an additional 88,962 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $258.22 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

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.