DRW Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,026 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during 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. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,929,000 after purchasing an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during 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, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 valued at $231,789,000 after purchasing an additional 48,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $273.42 and its 200 day moving average is $267.67. The company has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. 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 yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,000. This trade represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.