Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) is Accredited Investors Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 162,058.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation comprises 7.9% of Accredited Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $318,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 22.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 107,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,938,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after purchasing an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $2,402,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.64. 150,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,964. The firm has a market cap of $31.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $267.03 and its 200 day moving average is $266.57. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s 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 $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.