Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $109.65 Million Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 408,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,140 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.36% of Rockwell Automation worth $109,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $286.15 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. 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 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.