Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director Sells $592,000.00 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1 %

ROK opened at $295.14 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $274.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.98.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during 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. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,779,000 after purchasing an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.