Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,946 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $282.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

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.