Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.7 %

ROK opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.12 and its 200-day moving average is $267.32. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.