National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 85.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,756 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 2,097 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 737.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,277,000 after acquiring an additional 23,476 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 39,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 32,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.93.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $273.54 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $281.90 and a 200-day moving average of $283.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret bought 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.