Mendel Money Management Acquires 45 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Mendel Money Management grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,222,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 8.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ROK. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $272.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.79. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Company 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.