Grandfield & Dodd LLC Buys 6,281 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $439,912,000 after buying an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $264,929,000 after buying an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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 assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business's 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 owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE ROK traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $280.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 980,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,965. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $269.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.94. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.