Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Baldwin Investment Management LLC

Baldwin Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 610 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,485,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 34,433.3% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROK. TD Cowen cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $273.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.