Swedbank AB Purchases 394 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 349,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $93,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after purchasing an additional 341,814 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value 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 trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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 research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Three 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE ROK opened at $290.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $271.38 and a 200-day moving average of $267.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign 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 issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.