Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $317.79.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays raised Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $283.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, May 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $345.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $327.00 to $371.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $320.97. 1,083,786 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,072. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $288.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.60. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $328.90. The stock has a market cap of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.32, for a total transaction of $118,454.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,838.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,260.96. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,382,987 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.9% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 794 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $76,000. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $181,000. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $9,240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.