Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 163 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $302.89 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $286.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.66.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.