Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,572 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $297.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 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 quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $280.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.96.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.