Prospera Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd 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 grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $278.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $270.83 and a 200 day moving average of $267.11. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Bank of America increased 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.