Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Increases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $20,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $261.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $281.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.78. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.