Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.68.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $260.09 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.