Sanford C. Bernstein Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Hold

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $451.75.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of ROK opened at $440.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $424.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $406.00. 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 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $468.11. The company has a market cap of $48.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.76, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.