Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded at HSBC

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by investment analysts at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $355.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. HSBC’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.19% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $302.92 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $312.76. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $279.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $338,553.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,690,525.54. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $304,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 670,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,873,000 after acquiring an additional 19,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 8.8% in the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.