Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $240.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 14.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ROK. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.61.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK traded up $5.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $282.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 530,142. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $287.86 and its 200-day moving average is $274.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $31.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.1% during the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during 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.