Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Short Interest Down 21.6% in March

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a decrease 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 trading volume, of 933,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the business'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 value of $248,810.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after acquiring an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of ROK traded up $8.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $248.32. The company had a trading volume of 330,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,455. 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 capitalization of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $308.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $259.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.62.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 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, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.