Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Lowered to $285.00 at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7 %

ROK stock opened at $279.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $287.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.78.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.