Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Bought by Jacobs & Co. CA

Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.1% in the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded down $5.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $273.60. 446,524 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $273.82. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.