Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $304.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective raised by Oppenheimer from $258.00 to $304.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $283.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $201.00 to $271.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE ROK opened at $294.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $251.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.77.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total transaction of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 422.0% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 460,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,959,000 after acquiring an additional 7,958 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,818,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rockwell Automation

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.