Professional Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 700 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Professional Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $275.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.03. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.