Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Acquires 42 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 775.7% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,841,000 after purchasing an additional 6,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 46,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,439,000 after buying an additional 2,345 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 18,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $296.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. 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 50 day simple moving average of $272.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.48. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

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.