Elios Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $264,929,000 after buying an additional 41,605 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 842,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,789,000 after acquiring an additional 48,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of ROK opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.12 and its 200-day moving average is $267.32. The stock 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $286.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.