Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 69,800 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 50.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 69,800 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $18,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.1% during the second quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $294.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $298.68. The company had a trading volume of 905,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,923. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $277.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.