Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives $283.60 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $284.80.

Several brokerages recently commented on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,003,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 186.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,292,000 after purchasing an additional 9,596 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $2,817,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.0% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 203,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,382,000 after acquiring an additional 9,645 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $275.53 on Friday. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.80. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.09% and a net margin of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.