Qsemble Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 5,709 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $912,000. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $304,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,485,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $559,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded down $2.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $296.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,164,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,731. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. 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 twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company's 50-day moving average price is $272.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.48.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business 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%. The business's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction 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 represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.