Robert W. Baird Boosts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $315.00

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ROK. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $298.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.65. The stock has a market cap of $33.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 238.8% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the period. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the third quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 45,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,298,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.