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

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing 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 period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $268.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $304.29.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 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.