Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $304.00 at Oppenheimer

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target increased by Oppenheimer from $258.00 to $304.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.37.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $294.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.77. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 65.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.03, for a total transaction of $248,810.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,219.71. This represents a 45.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.01, for a total transaction of $147,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,838 shares in the company, valued at $837,238.38. This represents a 14.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,223,428. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 422.0% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 460,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,959,000 after acquiring an additional 7,958 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $6,818,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the period. 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.