Brokerages Set Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Target Price at $469.33

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $469.3333.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $462.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $461.94 and a 200 day moving average of $422.16. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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