Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $13.16 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,547,000 after purchasing an additional 5,623 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $280.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.03. The company has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.87%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.39%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.