Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Declares Dividend Increase – $1.31 Per Share

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of 1.31 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25.

Rockwell Automation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% 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 54.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $11.46 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 45.7%.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $286.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $269.16 and a 200-day moving average of $266.84.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.