Grandfield & Dodd LLC Has $11.49 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,281 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 85.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 5,623 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 49,695 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,482,000 after buying an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $278.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.94.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.