Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Buy” Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $350.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $290.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.17.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $297.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 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 has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 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 Activity

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $97,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 128.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.