Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 277.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 79,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,864 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,533,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 172,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,769,000 after buying an additional 7,574 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 6,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.4 %

ROK opened at $294.95 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $273.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.67.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. 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 payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % 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 ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

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.