Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $713,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 23,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,637,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,351,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 181.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $282.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $288.52 and its 200-day moving average is $275.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.