Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Buys 800 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 200.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,554,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $260.09 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $282.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.