Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Declares $1.25 Quarterly Dividend

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of 1.25 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%.

Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Rockwell Automation has a dividend payout ratio of 37.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $13.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.6%.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock traded up $4.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $286.94. The company had a trading volume of 867,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,034,260. The company has a market capitalization of $32.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $252.11 and a 1 year high of $348.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $280.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $284.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total value of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Markel Corp raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 10.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $16,221,000 after buying an additional 5,386 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,212,750,000 after acquiring an additional 106,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $360.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.43.

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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