Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Barclays

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $285.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 0.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.47.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $1.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $301.03. 78,775 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,024. The company has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $285.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.28. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,363,536. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $318,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,648 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29,591.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,073,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $580,095,000 after buying an additional 430,498 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $417,802,000 after buying an additional 390,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $56,887,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.