Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells 1,200 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.21, for a total transaction of $485,052.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,479.77. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $4.28 on Friday, reaching $407.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,207,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,420. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $438.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $407.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $418.33.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 26,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,701,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

About Rockwell Automation

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.