Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 41 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $409,000. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $559,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $1,611,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 177,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,732,000 after buying an additional 15,340 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $286.43 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.