Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Purchased by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Mizuho boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $278.13 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $270.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.