Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock 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 Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $399.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.51.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 EPS 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 business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $1.38 dividend. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.02, for a total value of $191,361.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,250.02. This represents a 16.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 39.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 88,053 shares of company stock valued at $34,718,919 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 3rd 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. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.1% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.3% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.