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

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

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ROK. Oppenheimer raised 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. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $279.44 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $287.14 and its 200-day moving average is $273.78. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. 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 business earned $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.