Citigroup Raises Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $350.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $345.00 to $350.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 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. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.55.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.5 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $303.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% during 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 bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.