Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,304 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total transaction of $390,691.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $317,286.99. This trade represents a 55.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,540 shares of company stock valued at $1,935,134. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $287.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.