Barclays Cuts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $285.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ROK. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.3 %

ROK stock opened at $261.67 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $283.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.81. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.