Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $6.86 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 696 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $258.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $280.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.43. The stock has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.