Saturna Capital Corp Has $80.89 Million Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Saturna Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 301,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp owned approximately 0.27% of Rockwell Automation worth $80,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.9 %

ROK stock opened at $280.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.55.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation 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.