Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Sells $7,973,421.00 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $273.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders 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 represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,345,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.13.

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.