Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $473.91 and last traded at $463.8370, with a volume of 498217 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $459.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Weiss Ratings raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $434.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.56.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $164,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 54.2% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 36,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,995,000 after purchasing an additional 12,727 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $2,117,000. DV Trading LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 433.3% in the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.