Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Sells 1,121 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $5.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.72. 900,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,968. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $278.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $269.09. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 9.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.9% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.