Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $327.00 to $371.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. TD Cowen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $316.21.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $320.42. 865,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,213. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.12 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $326.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $268.02 and its 200-day moving average is $278.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $837,238.38. The trade was a 14.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,166.29. This represents a 70.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,405 shares of company stock worth $1,640,796. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,063 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 3,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $479,000. 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.