316 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Purchased by Modus Advisors LLC

Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.04. 103,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,868. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.