UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.99% of Rockwell Automation worth $303,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.7% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.14. The company had a trading volume of 395,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,438. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve 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 stock has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $274.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.05.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.