James P. Keane Sells 2,000 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,518 shares in the company, valued at $3,409,328. This trade represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1 %

ROK traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $295.14. The company had a trading volume of 395,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,438. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $274.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.05. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

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.