Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Reduced by abrdn plc

abrdn plc decreased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,361 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $17,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 32.0% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after buying an additional 365,795 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,461,000 after buying an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ROK opened at $266.72 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $266.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 4.70 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.