Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Director Sells $474,573.00 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Director Patricia Watson sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK traded down $2.27 on Friday, hitting $430.73. The stock had a trading volume of 566,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,190. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $459.20 and a 200-day moving average of $427.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.