Matthew Fordenwalt Sells 146 Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.48, for a total value of $58,762.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,803.76. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE ROK opened at $413.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $371.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.19. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $415.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 468.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 91 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $391.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.33.

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.