Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Rockwell Automation’s Q3 2028 earnings at $4.02 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ROK. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $462.82.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $471.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $497.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $450.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $414.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a PE ratio of 49.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,009 shares of company stock worth $5,232,471 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the 1st 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.