First American Trust FSB Increases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

First American Trust FSB increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 50.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,054 shares during the quarter. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.25 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $279.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.