Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $469.3333.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $471.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $463.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $422.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. 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 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.