MML Investors Services LLC Has $1.46 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

MML Investors Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $1,134,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 92.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 109,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,356,000 after purchasing an additional 52,450 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.2% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $287.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $282.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.79.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.