3,709 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Purchased by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation 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 transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total value of $516,502.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 80,309 shares in the company, valued at $23,825,271.03. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROK traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $298.68. The company had a trading volume of 905,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,923. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $278.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76.

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 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 return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $294.75.

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.