Barclays Cuts Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target to $285.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $261.67 on Monday. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $308.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $283.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $278.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total value of $145,070.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,716.70. This trade represents a 20.79 % 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 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,948,000 after buying an additional 11,161 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,486 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,611,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.