Tradewinds LLC. Acquires 1,420 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation makes up 1.5% of Tradewinds LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after buying an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after acquiring an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $118,345,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $280.08 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.03. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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 revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. 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 presently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

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.