Citigroup Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Citigroup Inc. cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,471 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.17% of Rockwell Automation worth $50,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE ROK opened at $290.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $271.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.