Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 6,074 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 775.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,857 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,074 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 46,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $12,439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 532 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 18,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 154,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,528,000 after buying an additional 6,673 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $12.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $290.86. 1,842,415 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 982,173. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $271.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.20.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.