Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Acquires 63 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $260.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $282.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.59. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

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.