Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $286.15 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08. 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 $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. 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 (DPR) is presently 60.39%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

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.