Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 535 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $714,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,008,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,136,000 after acquiring an additional 21,360 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $8,711,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 48,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,951,000 after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 4,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $303.99 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.28. The company has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.