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

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $429.58 and last traded at $424.97, with a volume of 109198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $420.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Argus upgraded Rockwell Automation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $439.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.69.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $397.87 and a 200 day moving average of $366.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.38 dividend. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 72.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 229 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.92, for a total value of $92,039.68. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $827,151.36. The trade was a 10.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.00, for a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,234 shares in the company, valued at $483,728. This represents a 39.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 88,053 shares of company stock valued at $34,718,919 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 29.3% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.