512 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Bought by Prospera Private Wealth LLC

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $304,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $912,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $2,817,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7 %

ROK stock opened at $278.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.11. The company has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

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.