Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 48 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 4,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 47,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $294.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $286.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,328. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.05.

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.