Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $258.02 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $281.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Rockwell Automation 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.