ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Has $4.74 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,807 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in 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 boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of ROK stock traded up $8.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $286.60. 198,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,951. The company has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $267.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.17 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 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.13.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation 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.