Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho Sells 1,304 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.61, for a total value of $390,691.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,286.99. The trade was a 55.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded down $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $295.38. 652,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,858. 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 fifty day moving average of $277.18 and a 200 day moving average of $268.69. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.4% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $1,700,000. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2,461.1% in the second quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 21,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,992,000 after buying an additional 20,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.8% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.47.

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.