Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price upped by Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ROK. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $303.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $285.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.28. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the business’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 transaction of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’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 transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.