Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Price Target Raised to $305.00 at Robert W. Baird

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective lifted by Robert W. Baird from $290.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.13.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $296.09 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $242.81 and a 12 month high of $312.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $272.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.48.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business’s revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 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 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total value of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents 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 sold 28,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,560,594. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,648,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,247,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,949 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,683,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $717,865,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 33.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 390,784 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 162,058.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 1,185,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,227,000 after buying an additional 1,184,648 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,041,000 after buying an additional 67,684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.