Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Acquired by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $290.86 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $271.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.12. The company has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted 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 firm 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%. Rockwell Automation’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 posted $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.