SouthState Corp Increases Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,684 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,887 shares during the period. SouthState Corp's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related 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 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 approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $4.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $278.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 801,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,825. The company has a 50-day moving average of $269.64 and a 200-day moving average of $266.91. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.13.

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.