Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Cut to $280.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target cut by research analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.08% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ROK. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of ROK opened at $274.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $279.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.79.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,965,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during 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.