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

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 19 analysts, with target prices ranging from $275.00 to $410.00.
• The company recently reported satisfactory earnings, with $2.82 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 4.5%.
• Rockwell Automation will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.31, yielding 1.5%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 61.50% as of its latest announcement.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $340.1579.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded up $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $338.26. 513,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,039,685. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $344.58 and a 200-day moving average of $301.37. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.50%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $179,796.81. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.08, for a total value of $735,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $361,632.64. The trade was a 67.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,445 shares of company stock worth $3,267,779. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,669,781,000 after buying an additional 207,448 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $950,744,000 after purchasing an additional 48,105 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $374,176,000 after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.