Wall Street Zen Downgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays have set target prices of $299.00 and $370.00 respectively, with differing ratings on Rockwell Automation stock.
• Insider transactions show a recent trend of stock sales by company executives, with insiders selling over $11 million worth of shares in the last quarter.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $392.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $344.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $345.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.90. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,903.52. This represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $87,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,700. This represents a 13.08% 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 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.5% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the second 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in 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 during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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