Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 3,150 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.23% of Rockwell Automation worth $73,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Amundi grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,887,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,532,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 408,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,682,000 after purchasing an additional 88,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC raised 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. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of ROK opened at $258.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $281.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.68.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 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%. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.