Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $2.29 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 141.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,002 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,779,000 after buying an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ROK shares. 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 note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group assumed 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. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $294.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $5.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.72. 900,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,968. 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 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The stock's fifty day moving average is $278.28 and its 200 day moving average is $269.09. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total value of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares in the company, valued at $23,825,271.03. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,089,000. This represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Rockwell Automation

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.