Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by BNP Paribas

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6 %

ROK stock opened at $302.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $286.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $275.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $308.70. The firm has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.