Amundi Acquires 430,498 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Amundi owned 1.83% of Rockwell Automation worth $580,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 44,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,726 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 90,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,836,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 481,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,073,000 after purchasing an additional 31,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 8,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $276.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $284.25 and a 200-day moving average of $278.73.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,823 shares of company stock worth $1,690,564 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.47.

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.