Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Holdings Lifted by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 30,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,715,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $287.06 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $307.71. 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 market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.25.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.