UBS Group Begins Coverage on Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK)

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $313.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $2.52 on Wednesday, hitting $284.05. The company had a trading volume of 37,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,926. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $267.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.69. The company has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $26,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.