Chelsea Counsel Co. Cuts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Chelsea Counsel Co. lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 44.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Chelsea Counsel Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. increased 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 valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $104,779,000 after buying an additional 341,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $297.49 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.85 and a 200 day moving average of $269.30.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.17.

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.