Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $308.05.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $301.03 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.17 and a 200-day moving average of $276.17. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This trade represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $284,177,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.