D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $5.90 Million Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.95 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $273.42 and a 200-day moving average of $267.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.78%. This is an increase 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 presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.