Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $301.17.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of 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, December 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after buying an additional 700,745 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,779,000 after buying an additional 341,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $292.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.80.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.