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

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,554,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE ROK opened at $258.02 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.68. 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 P/E ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

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.