Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $171,134.10 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 983 shares in the company, valued at $319,819.05. The trade was a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $317.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $279.47 and its 200 day moving average is $279.88. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $328.90. The firm has a market cap of $35.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 119.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $479,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.79.

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.