Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Rating Increased to Hold at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $466.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $408.10. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $474.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.57. 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 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $164,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 36,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,995,000 after buying an additional 12,727 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $2,117,000. DV Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 433.3% during the 1st quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,371,000 after buying an additional 4,696 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.