Van ECK Associates Corp Has $7.86 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 96.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 756,125 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value 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 represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $294.81 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $286.25 and a 200-day moving average of $275.95. The firm has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.