Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Downgraded to Hold Rating by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $302.01 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 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.65. The company has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total transaction of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $284,177,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after acquiring an additional 674,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,021,000 after purchasing an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.