Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $384,000 Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after acquiring an additional 365,795 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after acquiring an additional 388,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $286.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.84. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $267.96 and its 200 day moving average is $266.69.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.