Talbot Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the quarter. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after purchasing an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 479,608.6% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 335,656 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,399,000 after purchasing an additional 335,726 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $1.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $274.74. 307,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,830. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

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.