Ascent Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was 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 worth $9,152,594 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $291.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $275.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.31. The company has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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 quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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 analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.