Barclays Cuts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $285.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.91% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROK. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $274.29. The stock had a trading volume of 240,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,065. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $284.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.91. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,242.93. The trade was a 34.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.