Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $290.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $255.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ROK opened at $297.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $277.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total value of $592,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,409,328. The trade was a 14.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,746 shares of company stock valued at $9,152,594 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.9% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 16.4% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $1,700,000. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 2,461.1% in the second quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 21,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,992,000 after acquiring an additional 20,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.8% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.