Stiles Financial Services Inc Sells 64 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Stiles Financial Services Inc cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,912,000 after acquiring an additional 365,795 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $277.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $266.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.63. The stock has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.64.

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.