Matthew W. Fordenwalt Sells 500 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total transaction of $160,010.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $866,934.18. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.98. The stock had a trading volume of 872,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,030. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $266.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $320.27. The firm has a market cap of $35.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $181,588,000 after buying an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after buying an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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