Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $268.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $279.51 and a 200-day moving average of $278.65. The company has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,965,774,000 after buying an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.