Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $316.22 and last traded at $312.01, with a volume of 1520895 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $314.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.36. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.13, for a total value of $760,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $894,026.76. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,682 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,771 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $9,240,000. Addison Capital Co increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.1% during the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 3,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 6.7% during 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 period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.