Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Purchased by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 24.2% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Cottage Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down previously from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $5.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $272.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,375,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,828. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $252.11 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $281.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,520,572.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Nicholas C. Gangestad sold 1,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.17, for a total transaction of $573,170.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,520,572.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.