Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $340.1579.

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5%

ROK stock opened at $343.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.41. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.02, for a total value of $160,010.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $866,934.18. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,145 shares of company stock worth $2,801,114. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth $368,575,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 128.9% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 866,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,989,000 after buying an additional 488,262 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 720.8% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,638,000 after buying an additional 350,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7,730.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 354,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,851,000 after buying an additional 350,261 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is 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.