Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 24.2% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $273.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.11. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 47.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,400,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.