Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 986,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 41,605 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.87% of Rockwell Automation worth $264,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second 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. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $284.21.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK traded up $1.04 on Tuesday, reaching $278.86. 623,630 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 878,125. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $267.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.57. The firm has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.56 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation 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.