Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 67,107 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 22.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 67,107 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.20% of Rockwell Automation worth $61,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 8.8% in the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,061,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,222,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $290.86 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $271.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The stock has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

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. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

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.