The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 79,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 8,864 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $21,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,929,000 after buying an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,789,000 after acquiring an additional 48,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $295.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $274.63 and a 200-day moving average of $268.03. The company has a market capitalization 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. 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. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,328. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,746 shares of company stock worth $9,152,594 over the last 90 days. 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.