Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $473.91 and last traded at $463.8370, with a volume of 498217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $459.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a PE ratio of 48.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $430.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $407.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 36,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,995,000 after buying an additional 12,727 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $2,117,000. DV Trading LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 433.3% in the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,371,000 after buying an additional 4,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankChampaign National Association acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $710,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.