Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,409,328. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1 %

ROK stock opened at $295.14 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

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.