Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $274.29 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $279.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in 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 valued at $132,554,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.