Modus Advisors LLC Invests $90,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROK. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.85 on Friday, reaching $280.04. The stock had a trading volume of 103,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,868. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $286.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $31.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.