VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $178,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $537,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.6% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 46,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $4,966,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $258.02 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The company has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $281.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.68.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

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.