Banco Santander S.A. Buys 2,345 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value 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. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $278.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $270.42 and a 200 day moving average of $267.03. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

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.