Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $300,000.00 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This trade represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $272.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.32. The firm has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost 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%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after acquiring an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $118,345,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.