Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 70.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,710 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $287.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.05 and a 200-day moving average of $278.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares in the company, valued at $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,304 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total transaction of $390,691.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $317,286.99. This represents a 55.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,540 shares of company stock valued at $1,935,134 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

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.