Choate Investment Advisors Has $670,000 Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $134,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $260.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.81. The firm has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC raised 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. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

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.