Nuance Investments LLC Invests $8.77 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,680 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,773,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.7 %

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $280.08. The company had a trading volume of 980,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,965. The firm's fifty day moving average is $269.96 and its 200-day moving average is $266.94. 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 market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 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 issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.