GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 347 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.1% in the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.7 %

ROK opened at $282.79 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $31.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.17.

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.