Zacks Research Downgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Hold

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Rockwell Automation’s Q2 2027 earnings at $3.38 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.64 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $3.88 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $13.90 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $3.63 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $3.86 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $4.03 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $16.21 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target for the company. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $481.31 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $1,556,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 197.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 9,238 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.