Patricia Watson Sells 1,100 Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director Patricia Watson sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total transaction of $474,573.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,680.55. This trade represents a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $430.73 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $332.71 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $458.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $47.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Evercore set a $485.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.19.

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.