Ascent Group LLC Buys 235 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $291.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.31. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76.

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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,746 shares of company stock worth $9,152,594 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.