Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $604,000 Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 34,433.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after buying an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33,600.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,658,000 after purchasing an additional 294,337 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of ROK traded down $12.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.76. The company had a trading volume of 451,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,905. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $249.00 and a one year high of $317.74. The company has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $312.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.71.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the business’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 value of $171,412.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.37, for a total transaction of $63,579.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,547.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 over the last ninety days. 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.