Pitcairn Co. Sells 134 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Pitcairn Co. reduced its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after acquiring an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,779,000 after acquiring an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 1.78%. 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 of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’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 value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.