Fiduciary Trust Co Purchases 139 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 18.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,781,000 after acquiring an additional 7,931 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 21.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.5% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 13.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $294.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.86. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 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 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

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.