Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC Trims Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC decreased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,952 shares during the period. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,102,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.1% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 24,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,897,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Rea LTD. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $1,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.8 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.72 on Friday. The stock 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. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

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.