Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Has $405,000 Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $288.08 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.18. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $307.71. The firm has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.