Scott Genereux Sells 278 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Scott Genereux also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 5th, Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE ROK opened at $293.72 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.09. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in 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 often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.