Morgan Stanley Boosts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $345.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $335.00 to $345.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 14.51% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on ROK. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.8 %

ROK stock traded down $2.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $301.28. 402,661 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 832,025. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.47. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.