Stephens Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Overweight

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $350.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $275.00. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.88% from the stock’s previous close.

ROK has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $275.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $287.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.04. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The firm has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,965,000 after acquiring an additional 11,996 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 794,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,749,000 after acquiring an additional 74,442 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth about $350,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.1% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 6,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.