Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $410.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their prior target price of $360.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.11.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ROK stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $355.42. 200,104 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 863,479. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $323.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.79. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.00. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.82, a PEG ratio of 3.95 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 65.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.35, for a total transaction of $171,134.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,819.05. This trade represents a 34.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 297 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.31, for a total transaction of $96,914.07. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,790.21. This trade represents a 14.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,220 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $226,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 71.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. LBP AM SA increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 137.6% during the second quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 47,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,813,000 after buying an additional 27,568 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.7% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 45,058 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,967,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.