Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $6.63 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $1,348,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 34.5% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 16.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,500,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of ROK opened at $287.69 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $282.32 and its 200-day moving average is $270.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

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 firm 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 company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.