Verity & Verity LLC Takes $291,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Verity & Verity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,017 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE ROK traded up $6.10 on Friday, reaching $287.06. The company had a trading volume of 942,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,310. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The stock's 50 day moving average is $287.88 and its 200-day moving average is $274.32. The stock has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 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.