Analysts Set Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Price Target at $310.08

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $310.08.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. Barclays lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $273.58 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $282.72 and a 200-day moving average of $284.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.43. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $252.11 and a 1-year high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.62 by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 11.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,337,482.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.6% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.4% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after buying an additional 28,016 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares in the last quarter. 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.