Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC Has $231,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 41.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,102,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 24,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 182,140 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,897,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Rea LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $1,383,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.8 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $268.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $266.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.59. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation 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.