WR Wealth Planners LLC Raises Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $287.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $286.05 and a 200 day moving average of $278.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.55.

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.