Harbour Investments Inc. Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Harbour Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at about $537,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $257.91 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $29.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $280.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

About Rockwell Automation

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.