New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 4,128 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,128 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $19,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 22,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,080,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.0% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.5% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $294.95 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.17. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.