Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $297.11.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $247.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.98 and a 200-day moving average of $274.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,219.71. This trade represents a 45.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,923 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $1,348,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $464,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,948,000 after purchasing an additional 11,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.