KeyCorp Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Overweight

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. KeyCorp currently has $345.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ROK. BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised 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 began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $298.68. 905,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,923. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $278.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 last year, the firm earned $3.64 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total value of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the business's 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. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,070 shares of company stock worth $10,142,408. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 9.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.3% in the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.9% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.