Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth approximately $2,003,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,014 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,617,000 after purchasing an additional 41,516 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 87,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.5% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $268.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

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.