JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 377,764 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 39.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 569,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 377,764 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $152,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $285.79 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.93.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.