Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $285.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ROK. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $286.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 238.8% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 45,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,298,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. 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.