Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $322,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 277.5% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 6,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 79,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,250,000 after buying an additional 8,864 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,533,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 172,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,769,000 after buying an additional 7,574 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value 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. 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 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.7 %

ROK stock opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.32. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated 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 believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.75%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.