Empowered Funds LLC Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,928 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 89.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 112,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 25,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,712,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 13,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $286.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $275.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock worth $10,800,555 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Rockwell Automation

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.