Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Sells 895 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $276.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $287.86 and its 200-day moving average is $274.04. The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase 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 1.89%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third 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 period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.