Oppenheimer Issues Positive Forecast for Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock Price

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) had its price target upped by analysts at Oppenheimer from $300.00 to $320.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.96% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. HSBC upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $302.01 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.35. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $242.81 and a 1 year high of $308.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research 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 Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total value of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 467 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,857 shares of company stock worth $10,678,037 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.