Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $462.8182.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ROK. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,009 shares of company stock valued at $5,232,471 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $471.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. Rockwell Automation has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $452.22 and its 200 day moving average is $414.72. The company has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a PE ratio of 49.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.