The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $257.00 to $290.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ROK. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $303.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.