Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Announces $1.31 Quarterly Dividend

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 1st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid 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 2.01%.

Rockwell Automation has increased its dividend payment 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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $260.75 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Rockwell Automation stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ROK shares. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.42.

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.