Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company's stock.

ROK has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $286.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $286.15. 1,107,827 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 883,885. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $312.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $268.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.83. The company has a market cap of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.39%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 951.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,532,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,611,915,000 after buying an additional 5,006,706 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 763,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $210,135,000 after purchasing an additional 700,745 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,048,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,092,891,000 after buying an additional 438,356 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by 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.