Elios Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 1,314 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

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

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 543.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 12,327 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth about $681,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % 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 worth $8,560,594 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE: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 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation 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.