Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,468 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $278.13 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $270.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase 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 1.88%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

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

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.