Insider Selling: Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $173,612.27 in Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $446.48 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $468.11. The stock has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.41, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $418.83 and its 200-day moving average is $404.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $449.16.

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.