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

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $310.08.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROK. Citigroup cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 target price (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares in the company, valued at $21,901,262.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,877 shares of company stock worth $5,058,772. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Markel Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,221,000 after acquiring an additional 5,386 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,212,750,000 after purchasing an additional 106,641 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE ROK opened at $269.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $284.17. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $252.11 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.43.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.58). Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 37.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 12.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 47.57%.

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.