Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Now Covered by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. BNP Paribas' target price indicates a potential upside of 20.39% from the stock's previous close.

ROK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $285.13.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded up $8.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $286.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,033,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,744. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $267.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.55. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $34,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.