SouthState Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

SouthState Corp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation comprises approximately 1.0% of SouthState Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,752,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $786,778,000 after buying an additional 70,272 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,908,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $545,474,000 after acquiring an additional 172,577 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,518,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $434,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,399,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,954,000 after acquiring an additional 43,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 900,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $270.04. 808,627 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,004,203. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $252.11 and a 1-year high of $348.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $282.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.24.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.57%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret bought 3,500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock valued at $5,058,772. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.