Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Short Interest Update

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decrease of 18.0% from the November 15th total of 3,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 795,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of ROK stock traded down $5.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $297.20. 1,307,839 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 893,183. The firm has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $280.84 and a 200 day moving average of $269.96.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after buying an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.