Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Cyril Perducat Sells 1,000 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $296.09 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The stock has a market cap of $33.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $272.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

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.