Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock Position Lowered by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,266 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 26,007 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tradewinds LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 18,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,891,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.5% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 6,673 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 7,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on 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 increased 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $287.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $294.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 637,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 895,603. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $273.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.86. The firm has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback 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.