Deutsche Bank AG Grows Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 452,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,773 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $129,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.88 on Friday. 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 $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.77.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,250 shares of company stock worth $1,223,428 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.