Barclays Cuts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $285.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC raised 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $273.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.87. The firm has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at $912,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the third 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. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.