Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $313.00 to $345.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.1 %

ROK opened at $298.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $278.28 and a 200-day moving average of $269.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,070 shares of company stock worth $10,142,408 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently 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.