Catalina Capital Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Catalina Capital Group LLC cut its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $118,345,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,461,000 after buying an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after buying an additional 365,795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK traded up $7.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $270.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 512,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $266.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $272.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $317.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 34.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total transaction of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.38, for a total value of $76,144.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,944.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,732 shares of company stock valued at $445,133. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $280.14.

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.