Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Now Covered by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $345.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 note on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $284.05. 37,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,926. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.69. The company has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 60.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after buying an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,326,000 after purchasing an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.