Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,209 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $5.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $291.54. The company had a trading volume of 676,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,781. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,746 shares of company stock worth $9,152,594. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.