CICC Research Begins Coverage on Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK)

Investment analysts at CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. CICC Research's price target points to a potential upside of 9.82% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $283.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, May 30th. BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.20.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $346.93 on Monday. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $348.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a PE ratio of 43.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.38.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.16% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $94,309.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,196 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,950.68. This trade represents a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $96,914.07. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,307,487 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 14,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $8,289,000. 75.75% of the stock is 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.

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