Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Short Interest Down 18.0% in November

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decline of 18.0% from the November 15th total of 3,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 795,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE ROK traded down $5.72 on Friday, hitting $297.20. 1,307,839 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 893,183. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $280.84 and a 200 day moving average of $270.04. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The company has a market capitalization of $33.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,348,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 16.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,500,000 after buying an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

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.