Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $20,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,129,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 119,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,205,000 after buying an additional 59,203 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ROK shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $261.88 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.61 billion, a PE ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.78.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

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.