Strong Tower Advisory Services Has $566,000 Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE ROK opened at $287.06 on Monday. 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $287.88 and a 200-day moving average of $274.32. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. 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 yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.