Broderick Brian C Purchases 109 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Broderick Brian C lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 43,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation comprises approximately 2.3% of Broderick Brian C’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Broderick Brian C’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $11,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $286.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $267.96 and its 200 day moving average is $266.69. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 60.39%.

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.