Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Short Interest Update

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decline of 18.0% from the November 15th total of 3,110,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 795,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE ROK traded down $5.72 on Friday, hitting $297.20. 1,307,839 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 893,183. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $280.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.96. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. 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 company has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.17.

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.