Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $286.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.84.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 60.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 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 reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

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.