Matthew Fordenwalt Sells 359 Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 359 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.02, for a total value of $143,966.18. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,672,253.40. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK traded up $9.48 on Wednesday, reaching $410.09. The stock had a trading volume of 932,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $46.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $370.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.75. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $413.04.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $439.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $388.13.

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.