Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $13.67 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,470 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.42.

Insider Activity

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

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 5.0 %

ROK stock opened at $227.25 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.89 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $274.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.46.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.