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

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret sold 1,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $403.87. 780,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,097,298. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $406.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $365.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.71. The company has a market cap of $45.34 billion, a PE ratio of 52.73, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. 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 yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.3% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 59,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,826,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 11.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,425,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ROK. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $417.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $391.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.56.

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.