Triangle Securities Wealth Management Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $287.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.25. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

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.