Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 58.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% during 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $227.25 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.48 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $274.90 and a 200 day moving average of $278.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.