Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 688 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 688 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $22,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th 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. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $281.02 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.05. The firm has a market cap of $31.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

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.