Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Rating Lowered to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Wells Fargo & Company, indicating a potential slowdown in investor confidence.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts are still positive; KeyCorp and Bank of America have increased their price targets for the stock, highlighting mixed sentiment in the market.
• The company reported a 4.5% increase in quarterly revenue compared to last year, with earnings per share of $2.82, surpassing expectations.

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $345.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, down from their previous target price of $365.00.

ROK has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $339.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:ROK traded up $9.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $339.57. The stock had a trading volume of 972,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,225. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $337.18 and its 200 day moving average is $294.58. The stock has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.86, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.50%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.33, for a total transaction of $94,309.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,042,950.68. The trade was a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total value of $96,914.07. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,790.21. The trade was a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,818 shares of company stock valued at $1,944,708. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 29,844.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 702,794 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $181,588,000 after acquiring an additional 700,447 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th 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. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 720.8% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 350,662 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7,730.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 354,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $117,851,000 after acquiring an additional 350,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 935,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $267,421,000 after acquiring an additional 339,480 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.