Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Holdings Reduced by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,471 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $50,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after buying an additional 41,605 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,789,000 after buying an additional 48,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $290.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $271.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.17.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

About Rockwell Automation

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.