WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd Buys Shares of 24,200 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 24,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,497,000. Rockwell Automation makes up approximately 2.7% of WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $304,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $2,817,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE ROK opened at $286.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $269.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.84. The company has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share 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 $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.