Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on Rockwell Automation and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $392.00 target price (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.47.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $329.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $337.18 and a 200 day moving average of $294.58. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.26, for a total value of $95,564.94. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,034.38. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total value of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.7% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.