Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 543 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $278.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $283.24 and its 200 day moving average is $284.34. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.11 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total value of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. Citigroup decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.08.

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.