Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $332.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $333.11.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,147,726.41. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total value of $171,134.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares in the company, valued at $319,819.05. This represents a 34.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,307,487. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $284,177,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $181,588,000 after purchasing an additional 700,447 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,047,000 after purchasing an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,021,000 after acquiring an additional 651,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after acquiring an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1%

ROK stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $343.31. The stock had a trading volume of 662,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,176. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $317.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.05. The firm has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.38. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $348.43.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

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.