West Oak Capital LLC Acquires 82 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 455.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. 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. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.2 %

ROK opened at $273.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $287.49 and a 200-day moving average of $273.87. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Bank of America increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.89.

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.