Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 1,052 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE ROK opened at $258.02 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.68. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’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 value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.