Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has $350.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock, up from their previous price target of $283.00.

ROK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $283.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $258.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $313.89.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $315.18. 1,520,895 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,903. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $316.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total transaction of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,033 shares in the company, valued at $314,166.29. This trade represents a 70.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 450 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.02, for a total transaction of $141,759.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $894,026.76. This trade represents a 13.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,182 shares of company stock worth $1,555,841. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,240,000. Addison Capital Co lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 3,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.7% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,449,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. 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.