Scott Genereux Sells 278 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Scott Genereux also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 5th, Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock traded down $5.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.72. The stock had a trading volume of 900,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,968. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.75.

About Rockwell Automation

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.