Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,931 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ROK. Mizuho boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ROK opened at $295.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 3.07 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $274.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,746 shares of company stock worth $9,152,594. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.