Morgan Stanley Boosts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $345.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its target price upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $335.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.57% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ROK opened at $298.51 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $286.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.65. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week 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 market cap of $33.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the 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. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.