Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells 299 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matheus De Viera Bulho sold 299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.00, for a total transaction of $107,341.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,071,256. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $364.75. 543,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 979,572. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $388.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $381.80. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $438.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.67.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation is a global industrial automation and digital transformation company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The firm designs, manufactures and supports control systems, industrial control hardware and software, and related services that help manufacturers and industrial operators automate processes, improve productivity and enable data-driven decision making. Rockwell traces its heritage to the Allen-Bradley and Rockwell automation businesses and positions itself as a provider of integrated automation solutions across discrete and process industries.

The company’s product portfolio includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency drives, sensors, safety components and other industrial control hardware, often marketed under the Allen-Bradley brand.