Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 15.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,111 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 13.4% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 18.9% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 2,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 124.6% in the second quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 17.0% in the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 4,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $280.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 528 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.78, for a total transaction of $133,995.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $943,554.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,732 shares of company stock worth $445,133. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK traded up $4.59 on Thursday, hitting $266.52. 545,436 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,915. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $314.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $266.81 and its 200 day moving average is $272.28.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.88%.

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.