Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Tessa M. Myers Sells 72 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 72 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $21,746.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,412 shares in the company, valued at $1,332,556.36. This trade represents a 1.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.72. 900,475 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,968. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $278.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.75.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $304,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 670,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,873,000 after acquiring an additional 19,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.