Connable Office Inc. reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 21.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,922 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during 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 raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $286.13.
Read Our Latest Research Report on ROK
Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation
In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.
Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1 %
Shares of ROK traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $286.15. 1,110,598 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 883,885. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $268.55 and its 200-day moving average is $266.83.
Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.39%.
Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Rockwell Automation Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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