Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $622,000 Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Verus Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,317 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after purchasing an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,402,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $409,000. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $559,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $277.88 on Wednesday. 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 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $267.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.57. The stock has a market cap of $31.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is currently 60.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.21.

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.