Point72 Asset Management L.P. Invests $8.91 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 33,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,909,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $1.68 on Friday, hitting $295.42. 652,502 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,905. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 3.06 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.83.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at $856,111.83. This trade represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 34,070 shares of company stock worth $10,142,408 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.