Darwin Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 128 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $278.13 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $270.83 and its 200 day moving average is $267.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

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.