Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, 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 have sold 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ROK. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ROK traded up $1.03 on Wednesday, reaching $297.03. 33,829 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 892,962. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.48.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. 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.