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

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $307.68.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas cut Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $284,177,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.6 %

ROK opened at $261.88 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $281.71 and a 200-day moving average of $278.78.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

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.