Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Rockwell Automation from a "buy" to a "hold"; analysts are mixed overall with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $406.67.
• Earnings beat: Rockwell reported Q EPS of $2.75 versus $2.46 expected and revenue of $2.11B versus $2.08B, and set FY2026 guidance of 11.400–12.200 EPS (analysts forecast 12.14).
• Insider selling has been notable—insiders sold 51,375 shares (~$20.8M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with 0.76% ownership; the stock trades near $408 with a market cap of ~$45.9B.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ROK. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Sunday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $458.00 to $448.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $406.67.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $408.35 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $383.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $389.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $250.32 and a 12-month high of $438.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.56.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total transaction of $5,930,794.65. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $5,835,262.32. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $671,925. This represents a 41.89% 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 have sold 51,375 shares of company stock valued at $20,828,717 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 642.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,616,000 after buying an additional 30,421 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.8% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 182,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,478,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the period. DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 10.0% during the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.1% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 406,586 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $145,713,000 after purchasing an additional 132,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

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.