Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Cuts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.7 %

ROK opened at $278.13 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $270.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.11. The company has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase 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 1.88%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

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.