Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $288.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $270.00 to $288.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $304.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.47.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $272.63 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.75. The company has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,891,000 after acquiring an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $118,345,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 82.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 859,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,461,000 after purchasing an additional 388,400 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is 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.