Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.35 EPS

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.35, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. Rockwell Automation updated its FY24 guidance to $10.00-11.00 EPS.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $272.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $281.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.11. Rockwell Automation has a 52-week low of $252.11 and a 52-week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $290.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $269.00 to $265.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $322.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total transaction of $140,260.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,519.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Blake D. Moret acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $283.64 per share, with a total value of $992,740.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 77,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,901,262.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.52, for a total value of $140,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,519.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.