Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a decline of 21.6% from the March 15th total of 2,730,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 933,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $248.00 to $201.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 462,537 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,554,000 after purchasing an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.4 %

ROK traded down $5.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $226.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,197,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.01 and a 200-day moving average of $275.43. The company has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

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.