Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $350.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $290.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $297.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $280.23 and its 200-day moving average is $269.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares in the last quarter. 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.