Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 775.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,074 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 worth $210,135,000 after acquiring an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $118,345,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value 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 represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $290.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $271.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.20. The firm has a market cap of $32.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

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.