Center for Financial Planning Inc. Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,238.38. The trade was a 14.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $320.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.72. The firm has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $328.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.79.

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.