HM Payson & Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho upped their target price 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of 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, Bank of America increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $266.72 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

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

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.