Huntington National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,563 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Rockwell Automation worth $57,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 17,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 56,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,199,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 301,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,887,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $286.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 60.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.13.

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.