Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys Shares of 760 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $298.51 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.65. The firm has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. 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 quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation 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.