JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $240.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 14.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $281.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.05. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.