Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Veena M. Lakkundi Sells 579 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $269.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.44. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.93.

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.