Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Purchased by Wahed Invest LLC

Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Wahed Invest LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after acquiring an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after acquiring an additional 41,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total value of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE ROK opened at $295.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $277.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $268.69. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last posted 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.