Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 14.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,763 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $22,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $2,003,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,617,000 after acquiring an additional 41,516 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 87,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $268.72 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

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.