Summit Asset Management LLC Buys 1,200 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Summit Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Summit Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 49.0% in the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 17,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 56,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,199,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 301,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,887,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 22.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $286.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $267.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.55. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management 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 given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.39%.

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.