Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $337.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $315.00 to $337.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 11.54% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.11.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $302.14 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.06.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.