Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 0.34% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $1.31 on Tuesday, hitting $301.03. The stock had a trading volume of 78,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,024. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $285.82 and a 200-day moving average of $275.28.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 238.8% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the third quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 45,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,298,000 after acquiring an additional 555 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.