Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for ROK Earnings

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) – Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2028 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Rockwell Automation in a report released on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will earn $3.63 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.62. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Rockwell Automation’s current full-year earnings is $13.06 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Rockwell Automation’s Q2 2028 earnings at $3.86 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $4.03 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $16.21 EPS.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ROK. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $471.57 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.02, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $463.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. 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 currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.