Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 146.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,119,000 after buying an additional 11,052 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 70.4% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,385,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $290.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $288.37 and a 200-day moving average of $274.81. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,111.83. This trade represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

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.