Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $290.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $257.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ROK. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $286.23 and a 200-day moving average of $275.65. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.