Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $8,909,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 47,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE ROK opened at $227.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $274.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.46. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.89 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.