Brokerages Set Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Target Price at $301.17

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $301.17.

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Bank of America lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE ROK opened at $290.50 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $284.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.46. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.55. 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 capitalization of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This is a boost 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 was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This trade represents a 8.87 % 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, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during 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.