Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) CFO Christian Rothe Sells 590 Shares

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation CFO Christian Rothe sold 590 shares at an average price of $434.30, generating $256,237. The transaction was conducted under a Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding, leaving him with 10,429 shares.
• Rockwell reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.49 and revenue of $2.31 billion, up 7.9% year over year. The company set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance at $13.00–$13.30.
• The stock rose 1.4% to $437.50, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating and a $468.19 price target. Rockwell also authorized a $1 billion buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) CFO Christian Rothe sold 590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ROK stock traded up $6.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $437.50. The stock had a trading volume of 558,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,416. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $462.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.92. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,001,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $65,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 9,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Rockwell Automation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source