Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $350.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their previous target price of $275.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ROK. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $4.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $281.02. 824,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,976. The business's fifty day moving average is $287.50 and its 200 day moving average is $274.05. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $242.81 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This trade represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,556,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 484.5% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 412,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,779,000 after purchasing an additional 341,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 479,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 335,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,399,000 after buying an additional 335,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

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.