State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $273.79 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,823 shares of company stock valued at $1,690,564. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.