Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $283.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $350.00 to $283.00 in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ROK. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.11.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $3.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $231.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,597. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $308.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company's fifty day moving average price is $263.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.29.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total transaction of $351,364.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. The trade was a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.68, for a total value of $75,500.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,260.96. The trade was a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,750 shares of company stock worth $1,075,923. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,876,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,965,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,079 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,115,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,033,476,000 after purchasing an additional 432,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,734,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $779,426,000 after buying an additional 51,228 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 430,498 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 13,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

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.