Investment Management Corp of Ontario Acquires 1,300 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $297.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $277.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $268.69. The firm has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 1.76%. The ex-dividend date 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 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.