Blake Moret Sells 1,762 Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret sold 1,762 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.90, for a total transaction of $709,909.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 89,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,159,872.10. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $403.87. The stock had a trading volume of 780,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,298. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.73, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $406.44.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 59.6% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 96.9% in the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after buying an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $6,818,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.