Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $350.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $290.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $302.92 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $280.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other 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.