MONECO Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price target (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.08.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $270.96 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.11 and a 1 year high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $282.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

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.