Tradewinds LLC. Acquires 1,420 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Tradewinds LLC. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation comprises about 1.5% of Tradewinds LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in 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 period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $280.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $270.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.