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

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 31st, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change 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 raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Rockwell Automation has a payout ratio of 47.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Rockwell Automation to earn $10.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.0 %

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $266.71. The stock had a trading volume of 706,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,510. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 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 company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.