Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $315.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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 boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE ROK opened at $294.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $308.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $251.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.77. The firm has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total value of $248,810.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,250 shares of company stock worth $1,223,428. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.