Amundi Purchases 430,498 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Amundi grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 430,498 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $580,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered 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, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,823 shares of company stock worth $1,690,564 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $276.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $284.25 and its 200 day moving average is $278.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

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.