Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Sells 26,700 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $298.84 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.32. 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 company has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen decreased 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. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $382,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 543.5% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,172,000 after acquiring an additional 12,327 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $681,000. 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.