Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $290.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $255.00.

ROK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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 boosted their target price 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.6 %

ROK stock opened at $295.42 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $277.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.85.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for 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 was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at $856,111.83. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is 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. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.