Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $6.63 Million Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $292.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $286.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.78.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,304 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total transaction of $390,691.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,286.99. This represents a 55.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.