Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $479.42 and last traded at $476.1640, with a volume of 29786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $473.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $441.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.74. The company has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 47.53, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,925. This represents a 41.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 in the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.