Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, KeyCorp Analyst Says

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $275.00 to $330.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.91% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $201.00 to $271.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $294.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $251.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,238.38. This represents a 14.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in 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 buying an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 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.