Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Lowered to $201.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $248.00 to $201.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ROK. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $217.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.43. The company has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.29 and a 12-month 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, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,645 shares of company stock valued at $1,321,798. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 2,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,134,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 141.9% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 8,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 5,002 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.