Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 2,443 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,443 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,212,750,000 after acquiring an additional 106,641 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,778,000 after acquiring an additional 70,272 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,741,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $706,004,000 after acquiring an additional 457,383 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,375,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $695,560,000 after acquiring an additional 51,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $545,474,000 after acquiring an additional 172,577 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $273.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $283.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $252.11 and a 12-month high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.