Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $132,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.1% during the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.5 %

ROK stock opened at $281.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $286.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.58.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by 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.