Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells 250 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $81,582.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,431.97. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $325.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 724,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,628. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $328.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $275.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.56.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ROK shares. Barclays upgraded Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.21.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,613 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 25,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.