IFP Advisors Inc Sells 108 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

IFP Advisors Inc cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,825,271.03. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,540 shares of company stock valued at $1,935,134. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ROK shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $287.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $286.05 and a 200 day moving average of $278.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

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.