Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock Position Cut by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 248,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,695 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $77,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,070. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.27, for a total transaction of $127,617.09. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,696. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,956 shares of company stock worth $845,787 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $310.00 to $304.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $255.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $276.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.69. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.11 and a 52 week high of $348.52. The company has a market capitalization of $29.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.83% and a net margin of 13.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.88%.

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.