Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have given Rockwell Automation a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy", with the average 12-month target price set at $347.94.
• Recent transactions include Director James P. Keane selling 3,000 shares valued at over $1 million, which marked a significant decrease in ownership.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Rockwell Automation, with notable purchases leading to an overall institutional ownership of 75.75% of the company's stock.

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $347.9444.

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. The trade was a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,700. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $368,575,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 128.9% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 866,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $287,989,000 after purchasing an additional 488,262 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 720.8% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,638,000 after purchasing an additional 350,662 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7,730.3% in the second quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 354,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $117,851,000 after purchasing an additional 350,261 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 294.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 429,492 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $142,664,000 after purchasing an additional 320,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.4%

ROK opened at $354.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company's 50-day moving average is $345.31 and its 200 day moving average is $319.34. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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