Acropolis Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $276.84 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $300.89.

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.