Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Sells 1,741 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,741 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.67, for a total transaction of $516,502.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,825,271.03. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $295.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.67 and its 200 day moving average is $268.83.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $1,348,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34.5% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 16.3% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,500,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.47.

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.