Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $313.00 to $345.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.46% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.7 %

ROK stock opened at $293.72 on Monday. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $278.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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.