Barclays Cuts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $280.00

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.42.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $258.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $278.93 and its 200 day moving average is $278.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. This represents a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.21, for a total value of $255,178.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,242.93. This trade represents a 34.23 % 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 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,222,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares in the last quarter. 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.