Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells 1,250 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matheus De Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares in the company, valued at $671,925. This trade represents a 41.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock traded up $5.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $395.55. The company had a trading volume of 743,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 847,232. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $222.06 and a one year high of $438.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $382.80.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Rockwell Automation from $458.00 to $448.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut Rockwell Automation from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Argus raised Rockwell Automation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.