Thematics Asset Management Sells 10,494 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Thematics Asset Management reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,258 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,494 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management owned approximately 0.05% of Rockwell Automation worth $15,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after acquiring an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,789,000 after purchasing an additional 48,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of ROK traded down $4.51 on Tuesday, hitting $294.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 268,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,759. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $272.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

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

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation 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.