Brokerages Set Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Price Target at $301.17

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.17.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $290.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $284.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.46. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.55. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,348,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently 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.