FourThought Financial Partners LLC Invests $426,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 24.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,694,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,540 shares of company stock worth $1,935,134 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $288.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.00. The company has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.