Rockwell Automation Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ROK)

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 2,755 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 189% compared to the typical volume of 953 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 476 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,401 shares in the company, valued at $965,250.02. This represents a 16.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.00, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,728. This trade represents a 39.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,531 shares of company stock worth $10,259,637. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 61,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,613,000 after acquiring an additional 4,086 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 180.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter worth about $777,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 796.0% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 97,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,342,000 after buying an additional 86,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.4%

ROK stock traded down $5.63 on Monday, hitting $393.16. 653,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,681. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.52. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $438.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $406.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $376.28.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ROK. Zacks Research downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Rockwell Automation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $418.33.

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.