Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given Buy (B-) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation has received a "buy (B-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating positive analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Multiple analysts, including Citigroup and Bank of America, have recently increased their target prices for Rockwell Automation, with Bank of America raising its target to $410.00.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.82 and revenue of $2.14 billion, up 4.5% from the previous year.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reissued by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $381.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:ROK opened at $347.73 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $344.19 and a 200 day moving average of $313.47. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $215.00 and a 52 week high of $360.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,922 shares of company stock worth $11,191,812 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 468.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 91 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.

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