FORA Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

FORA Capital LLC cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 25.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,866 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 41,605 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,789,000 after acquiring an additional 48,951 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $295.66. The stock had a trading volume of 54,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,949. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.48. The firm has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

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.