Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 13.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $589,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $1,350,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp raised 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $258.68 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $277.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.