LRI Investments LLC Buys 1,973 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 4,197.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.7% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.1% during the second quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $293.72. 900,475 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,968. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.09. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. 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 capitalization of $33.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.75.

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.