Sovran Advisors LLC Takes $479,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,729 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,707 shares of company stock valued at $10,933,215 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ROK traded down $3.85 on Friday, reaching $294.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 881,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,689. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $286.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.97.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 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.