Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 500 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $290.73 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.