Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Rating Lowered by BNP Paribas

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ROK. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $257.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, HSBC upgraded 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $302.01 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $286.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.65. 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 stock has a market cap of $34.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $242.81 and a twelve month high of $308.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.42% and a net margin of 11.53%. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. The trade was a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,089,000. This trade represents a 21.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock valued at $10,678,037. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.