Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $301.17.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. Barclays upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $293.88. 371,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 900,823. The stock has a market cap of $33.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $284.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.95. 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 quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,541 shares of company stock valued at $10,586,674. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after buying an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $717,865,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $417,802,000 after purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised 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 worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.4% during 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 worth $303,041,000 after purchasing an additional 67,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

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.