Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $300.00 at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) had its price target upped by Barclays from $285.00 to $300.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ROK. HSBC raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:ROK traded down $4.35 on Tuesday, hitting $294.31. 573,453 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,283. The company has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $286.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.81. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. 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 (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.07, for a total value of $132,660.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,363,536. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 238.8% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 864 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $214,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the third quarter worth $234,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,960,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cabot Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the third quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 45,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,298,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. 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.