Silvant Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Silvant Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the 2nd 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 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 in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $268.72 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.01 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.