McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $302.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $286.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.47.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.