Short Interest in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Drops By 18.0%

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) saw a significant decline in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 795,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $5.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,307,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,183. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $280.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. 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. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,652 shares during the period. 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 128.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,205,000 after buying an additional 10,615 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 203.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 28,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,943,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.