Rockwell Automation, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.31 (NYSE:ROK)

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 1st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of 1.31 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%.

Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Rockwell Automation has a dividend payout ratio of 47.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $11.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.3%.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1 %

ROK opened at $258.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.88. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Rockwell Automation stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

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.