Private Trust Co. NA Sells 258 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $264,929,000 after acquiring an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,789,000 after purchasing an additional 48,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-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 stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.