Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Cut to $280.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target cut by Barclays from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ROK. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ROK stock opened at $269.06 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $308.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during 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.