Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $1.40 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $301.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $286.17 and its 200-day moving average is $276.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.28 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.