Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes $464,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’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 value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $296.09 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $281.41 and its 200 day moving average is $270.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

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.