Verity Asset Management Inc. Purchases 593 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 54.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.93.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 5.8 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $277.09 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.63.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change 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 presently 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation 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 value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, 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 link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.