Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $287.13 Average PT from Analysts

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $287.13.

Several analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594 in the last ninety days. 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 ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after acquiring an additional 341,814 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $291.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.31. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36.

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 company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $3.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.