Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Stephens

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $350.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $275.00. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.93% from the stock’s previous close.

ROK has been the topic of several other reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $287.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $287.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.10. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 13,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Marathon Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $429,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 3,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.