Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $5.82 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,824,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.5 %

ROK opened at $255.30 on Friday. 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 market cap of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $282.55 and its 200 day moving average is $278.64.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.