Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $315.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $315.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $286.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.65. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $308.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $214,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth $234,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is 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.