Summit Trail Advisors LLC Buys 103 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $296.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $272.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.48.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.13.

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.