Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Repurchase $1.00 billion in Stock

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.8%

Rockwell Automation stock traded up $8.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $459.96. 485,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 665,842. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $468.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $422.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $405.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.81, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $451.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.