Terry L. Riesterer Sells 2,500 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,033 shares in the company, valued at $314,166.29. This represents a 70.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $309.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $310.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.26. The stock has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.37.

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.