Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $390.3333.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $417.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 476 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,250.02. The trade was a 16.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.13, for a total value of $90,479.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,932.42. This trade represents a 9.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,253 shares of company stock worth $34,405,319. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $368,575,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 128.9% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 866,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $287,989,000 after purchasing an additional 488,262 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 122.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 819,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $286,522,000 after purchasing an additional 451,038 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 720.8% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,638,000 after purchasing an additional 350,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7,730.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 354,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $117,851,000 after purchasing an additional 350,261 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.4%

ROK stock opened at $410.09 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $413.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $370.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 53.54, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 72.06%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.