Quest Partners LLC Invests $537,000 in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,999 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $6,497,000. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 16.7% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 119,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,205,000 after acquiring an additional 59,203 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $290.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.17. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is an increase 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

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.