Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $286.43 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,092,891,000 after purchasing an additional 438,356 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 951.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006,706 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,510,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,912,000 after purchasing an additional 365,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.