National Bank of Canada FI Has $29.36 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,450 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.10% of Rockwell Automation worth $29,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $912,000. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 670,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,873,000 after acquiring an additional 19,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $295.42 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $277.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.47.

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.