Monetta Financial Services Inc. Makes New $800,000 Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Monetta Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $257.91 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $280.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 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.