Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $420.19 and last traded at $418.72, with a volume of 92733 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $414.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ROK. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.13.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $46.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $392.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $362.98. 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 (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 2,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.45, for a total value of $956,176.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,375.80. This trade represents a 54.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.07, for a total value of $410,111.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,420,863.47. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 88,053 shares of company stock worth $34,718,919 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ROK. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 13,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rockwell Automation

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.