Analysts Set Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Price Target at $304.16

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $304.16.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $288.08 on Monday. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $288.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 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.