Swedbank AB Has $93.83 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.31% of Rockwell Automation worth $93,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after purchasing an additional 341,814 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $290.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.12. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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

Rockwell Automation Company 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.