SouthState Corp Buys 2,339 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $16,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $408,229,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $374,176,000 after acquiring an additional 30,837 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $360,777,000 after acquiring an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,307,000 after acquiring an additional 11,849 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $347.94.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total transaction of $127,180.60. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at $589,212.04. The trade was a 17.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total transaction of $499,494.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,375 shares of company stock worth $10,661,109 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $362.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $348.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $375.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.79%.

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.