Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $99,482.12 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 218 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.34, for a total value of $99,482.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,196,820.76. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $446.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $418.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $404.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $468.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 57.38%.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. HSBC upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $449.16.

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.