Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Position Boosted by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.7% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $297.20 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $280.84 and a 200-day moving average of $270.04.

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, beating 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 posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

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.