Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $479.42 and last traded at $476.1640, with a volume of 29786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $473.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. HSBC raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $438.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $409.73. The firm has a market cap of $52.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.43, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROK. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $164,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 54.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $2,117,000. DV Trading LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 433.3% during the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 34,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,371,000 after acquiring an additional 4,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

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.