Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Decreases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 37.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 986,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,929,000 after purchasing an additional 41,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $295.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.98. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,409,328. This trade represents a 14.80 % 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. Insiders have sold a total of 30,746 shares of company stock worth $9,152,594 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.