Primecap Management Co. CA Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 260,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,590 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.23% of Rockwell Automation worth $69,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $118,345,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $278.13 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $270.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often 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.