Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $282.80 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $282.80.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $293.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2,472.6% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 10,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after buying an additional 9,841 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,729,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $261.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $269.64. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The firm has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.