Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $317.79 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $317.79.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total value of $147,505.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,238.38. This trade represents a 14.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.0%

ROK stock opened at $322.62 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.40. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $328.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

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.