Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $287.13 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $289.47.

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $297.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $277.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.69. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 3.03 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

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.