JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $240.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ROK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7 %

ROK stock opened at $277.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.04. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,114.56. The trade was a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total transaction of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,965,000 after acquiring an additional 11,996 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 794,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,749,000 after acquiring an additional 74,442 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $350,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 6,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 69 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.