Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Terry L. Riesterer Sells 2,100 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total transaction of $735,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $361,632.64. The trade was a 67.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $357.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $323.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.79. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.