Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Veena M. Lakkundi Sells 579 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $269.20 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 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.44. The stock has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.93.

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.