Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret Sells 61,700 Shares

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret sold 61,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.56, for a total value of $24,159,252.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,841,311.88. This represents a 42.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK traded up $18.44 on Monday, reaching $391.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,405,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,525. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.00, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $396.89.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ROK shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $391.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.39.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,669,781,000 after buying an additional 207,448 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $950,744,000 after acquiring an additional 48,105 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $374,176,000 after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.