Global Trust Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This represents a 14.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,681 shares of company stock worth $2,382,987. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday. Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.79.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $323.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $281.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.87. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $328.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.99%.

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.