Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) VP Sells $245,874.40 in Stock

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

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $275.85 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.61.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.