Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROKFree Report) by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,007 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Comerica Bank increased 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 buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $559,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Check Out Our Latest Report on ROK

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROKGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 given 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 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK)

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