Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $1.53 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $304,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $912,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ROK. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 company has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

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 net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.