Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

ROK opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $273.42 and a 200-day moving average of $267.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Barclays raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.5% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $382,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 543.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,172,000 after purchasing an additional 12,327 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth $681,000. Hedge funds and other 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.