Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 199,051 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 199,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,887,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,540 shares of company stock valued at $1,935,134. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $284.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $286.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.11. The firm has a market cap of $32.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas cut Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.55.

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.