Coastline Trust Co Acquires Shares of 500 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.0% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 29.9% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 85.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 5,623 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE ROK opened at $286.15 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The stock has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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 company 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 quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 payout ratio is 60.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

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.