Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.07% from the company’s current price.

ROK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $286.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.87. The company has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $66,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,919 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.