Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,359 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.14% of Rockwell Automation worth $44,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,348,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $464,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,948,000 after purchasing an additional 11,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.5 %

ROK stock opened at $231.51 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $308.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.29.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.