Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Cut to $280.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 8.44% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ROK. Stephens upgraded Rockwell Automation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.42.

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Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $9.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $258.22. 987,837 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 846,610. The company has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $278.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.76. 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 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,819.50. This trade represents a 25.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,246,298. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,965,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,247,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,949 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $779,426,000 after purchasing an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $580,095,000 after purchasing an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.