Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $240.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential downside of 13.00% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ROK. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $301.61.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK traded down $1.13 on Wednesday, hitting $275.85. The company had a trading volume of 712,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,984. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $287.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Rockwell Automation's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % 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 worth $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $717,865,000 after acquiring an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $417,802,000 after acquiring an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.