Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective reduced by Barclays from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.89.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $273.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 3.12 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $287.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.87. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This trade represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 sale, the vice president now owns 4,800 shares in the company, valued at $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,541 shares of company stock worth $10,586,674 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is 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.