Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to Hold

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Rockwell Automation to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with nine Buy ratings and 12 Hold ratings and an average price target of $468.48.
• Rockwell reported quarterly EPS of $3.49, beating estimates of $3.38, while revenue rose 7.9% year over year to $2.31 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $13.24.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 2% of outstanding shares; institutional investors own approximately 75.75% of the stock.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $485.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $468.48.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $433.95 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $439.64 and a 200-day moving average of $431.28. The company has a market capitalization of $48.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.52. Rockwell Automation has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Isaac Woods sold 154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.62, for a total transaction of $66,623.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $803,807.96. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total value of $474,573.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,680.55. The trade was a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,711 shares of company stock worth $1,164,880 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,129,376,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,323,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,635,801,000 after buying an additional 265,978 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,133,397,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $818,986,000 after acquiring an additional 24,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $615,596,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc NYSE: ROK is a global provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies. The company helps manufacturers and other industrial organizations improve productivity, safety, quality and operational efficiency by connecting control systems, equipment, software and data across production environments.

Its portfolio includes programmable logic controllers, industrial computers, sensors, motor control and drives, motion-control systems, safety equipment, human-machine interfaces and industrial networking technologies.

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