Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $345.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.1 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $286.15 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.87.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.