Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Has $10.54 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $118,345,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $2.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $282.46. 51,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,137. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $269.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 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 given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

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

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.