Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Sells 279 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $295.38. 652,495 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,858. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $277.18 and a 200-day moving average of $268.69. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.