BNP Paribas Buys 436 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 21.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 436 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 122.2% during the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 3,238 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 1,781 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34,433.3% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.4 %

ROK stock opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. 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 research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

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.