Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 34,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 5,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % 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 Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.27 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.01. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $304.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.