SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 37.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.2 %

ROK opened at $287.06 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $287.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of 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 objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation 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.