UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $303.04 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $303,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 9,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 18.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,781,000 after buying an additional 7,931 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. BNP Paribas boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 21.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $295.14 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $274.63 and a 200-day moving average of $268.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’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 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.