1,475 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,823 shares of company stock valued at $1,690,564. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $276.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $284.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.82. The stock has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. 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 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.