Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Christopher Nardecchia Sells 551 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,711 shares in the company, valued at $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $325.06. 724,696 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,628. The company has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 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 $328.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $275.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.56.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $479,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised shares of 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $316.21.

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.