Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $310.08.

A number of research firms have commented on ROK. Citigroup reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $254.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $269.96 on Friday. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $252.11 and a one year high of $348.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $282.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.17. The company has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total value of $140,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,519.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Brian A. Shepherd sold 637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.87, for a total transaction of $167,448.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,482.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total transaction of $140,260.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,519.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 16.6% in the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 9.4% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 676.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after acquiring an additional 28,016 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 85,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,562,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.