Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $308.05.

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.3 %

ROK stock opened at $301.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $286.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.17.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results 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, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total transaction of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares in the company, valued at $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth about $214,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 35,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1,707.7% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 17.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.