Savant Capital LLC Acquires 3,613 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 119.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,613 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $298.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.65.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.