Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 458 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 458 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $380,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 676.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,984,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after purchasing an additional 4,093 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 3,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,696. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total value of $127,617.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,696. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.11, for a total value of $171,412.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,309.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,199 shares of company stock valued at $572,750 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $260.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $268.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.37. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.00 and a 52 week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.21.

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.