Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $81,582.50 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $81,582.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,509 shares in the company, valued at $492,431.97. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $325.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.56. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $328.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ROK. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.21.

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.