ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,033,476,000 after buying an additional 432,934 shares during the period. 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 valued at $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 13,744 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $308.13 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.41. The stock has a market cap of $34.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $310.78.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,839 shares of company stock valued at $2,014,256. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.37.

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.