Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,109 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $589,000. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 41,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,195,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $293.83 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $276.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.49.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current 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 issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594. 0.68% of the stock is 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.