Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,238 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,109 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,779,000 after buying an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROK stock traded up $3.27 on Thursday, hitting $297.10. 993,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,869. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $276.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.49. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.