Rockwell Automation, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.25 (NYSE:ROK)

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of 1.25 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th.

Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Rockwell Automation has a dividend payout ratio of 37.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $13.20 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 37.9%.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.9 %

ROK stock opened at $272.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $252.11 and a 12 month high of $348.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $281.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.34. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.08.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,901,262.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 13,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total value of $3,933,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,400,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret purchased 3,500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $283.64 per share, for a total transaction of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock valued at $4,891,324 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% 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.