Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a new investment in Rockwell Automation, purchasing 246,272 shares valued at approximately $63.6 million, representing about 0.22% of the company's total stock.
• Rockwell Automation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.31 per share with an annual yield of 1.5%, scheduled for payment on September 10th.
• The company reported earnings of $2.82 per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations and achieving a revenue of $2.14 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 4.5%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 246,272 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $63,632,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Rockwell Automation as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,229,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $374,176,000 after acquiring an additional 30,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,391,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $397,628,000 after acquiring an additional 171,604 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $349.09 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $338.23 and a 200-day moving average of $295.26. The stock has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 61.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $96,914.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $339.47.

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.

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