Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $410.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $360.00. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 14.91% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ROK. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. CICC Research started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $356.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.94, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $323.60 and a 200-day moving average of $286.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $357.64.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’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 year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,838.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total transaction of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $866,934.18. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 380.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after buying an additional 5,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $13,664,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.