Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 8,947 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,947 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 24.2% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.59, for a total transaction of $43,138.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,820.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,006 shares of company stock valued at $4,822,904 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $266.45. 162,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 999,809. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $278.24 and its 200-day moving average is $283.58. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $252.11 and a 12 month high of $348.52. The stock has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.21 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 48.88%.

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.