Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Sells 4,346 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lowered its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,346 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $2.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $283.74. 440,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,896. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.82. The company has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.