Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $350.00

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $345.00 to $350.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ROK. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $4.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $294.19. 573,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 847,283. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $33.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $286.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.81. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,177,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,326,000 after buying an additional 933,025 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 85,513.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 675,487 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,047,000 after buying an additional 674,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 102.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,287,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $368,021,000 after buying an additional 651,116 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.