Cerity Partners LLC Has $8.22 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,779,000 after acquiring an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ROK opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $273.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The company 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. 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%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.