Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.7 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $276.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $284.25 and its 200-day moving average is $278.82. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week 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 data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,823 shares of company stock valued at $1,690,564 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.