Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Raises Dividend to $1.31 Per Share

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of 1.31 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25.

Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Rockwell Automation has a dividend payout ratio of 47.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $10.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $266.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $266.06 and its 200 day moving average is $266.81. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.