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

Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 119.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value 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. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ROK stock traded down $3.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $294.81. 881,936 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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 firm has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $286.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.