PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,496 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $24,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted 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. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ROK. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’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 value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $278.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.11. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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

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.