Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $290.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $257.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ROK. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $286.23 and its 200-day moving average is $275.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.