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

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $313.00 to $345.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE ROK traded up $4.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $300.36. 531,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 888,277. The company has a market cap of $33.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. 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 has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.83.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares in the company, valued at $856,111.83. This trade represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,070 shares of company stock valued at $10,142,408 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $464,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,348,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,500,000 after buying an additional 5,480 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.