Robert W. Baird Increases Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $305.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $290.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.41% from the company’s previous close.

ROK has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $294.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $312.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $273.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.67. The stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.44 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,089,000. The trade was a 21.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,746 shares of company stock worth $8,560,594. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $1,348,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 34.5% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 16.3% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,500,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. 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.