Fmr LLC Trims Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FMR LLC trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 33,703 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 0.21% of Rockwell Automation worth $63,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $322,000. Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $353,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 277.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 6,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 79,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,864 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $295.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 652,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,905. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $277.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $268.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.