Matthew Fordenwalt Sells 218 Shares of Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Stock

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 218 shares on June 2 at an average price of $456.34, a transaction worth about $99,482. The sale was part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and was made to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus the $2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year. Rockwell also reaffirmed upbeat full-year guidance, setting FY2026 EPS guidance at $12.50 to $13.10.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive on ROK, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $449.16. Recent calls included price-target increases from Barclays and Evercore, while JPMorgan held a neutral rating.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.34, for a total value of $99,482.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,196,820.76. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $461.76. 703,364 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,337. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $468.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $410.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $402.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a PE ratio of 48.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 57.38%.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,527,249,000 after buying an additional 114,469 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,943,844,000 after buying an additional 202,705 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,136,801,000 after buying an additional 276,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $818,986,000 after buying an additional 24,719 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $449.16.

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.

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