Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt Sells 600 Shares

Key Points

• SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 600 shares on May 5 at an average price of $449.58 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, cutting his stake by 11.91% to 4,437 shares (~$1.99M).
• Rockwell beat Q2 estimates — $3.30 EPS vs. $2.88 consensus and $2.24B revenue — and raised FY2026 guidance to $12.50–$13.10, spurring a stock rally and multiple analyst price-target increases.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 (annualized $5.52) with an ex-dividend date of May 18, implying a yield of about 1.2%.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total transaction of $269,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,994,786.46. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock traded up $24.96 on Wednesday, reaching $460.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,181,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 937,897. The business's 50 day moving average is $384.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $390.50. The company has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.56. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $277.66 and a 1 year high of $463.49.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.16%.

Key Headlines Impacting Rockwell Automation

Here are the key news stories impacting Rockwell Automation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat and raised full-year guidance — Rockwell reported $3.30 EPS vs. ~$2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24B (organic growth, margin gains). Management raised FY26 EPS guidance to $12.50–13.10 and revenue guidance above Street estimates, driving the rally. Why Rockwell Automation Is Up After Raising 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts revise forecasts upward — Multiple analysts raised earnings and price targets after the upbeat quarter, citing stronger AI/data-center and factory automation demand, which supports higher valuation assumptions. Analysts Raise Forecasts
• Positive Sentiment: Notable price-target increases from bullish shops — Several firms pushed targets materially higher (BNP Paribas Exane to $515, Goldman Sachs to $487, Evercore to $480), signaling institutional confidence in upside from the guidance beat. BNP Paribas PT Raise Goldman PT Raise Evercore PT Raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed but executed under 10b5-1 plans — Several executives (VP Scott Genereux; SVPs Christopher Nardecchia and Matthew Fordenwalt) sold shares on May 5th in pre-arranged plans. Planned sales reduce negative signal vs. ad-hoc selling but warrant monitoring. Genereux Insider Trade Nardecchia Insider Trade Fordenwalt Insider Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed broker actions — Some shops raised targets materially while others kept neutral/equal-weight ratings or more modest hikes (e.g., Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Rothschild), producing a mixed short-term backdrop even as consensus estimates moved up. JPMorgan PT Adjust
• Negative Sentiment: New cyber and third‑party data-privacy risk disclosure — Rockwell flagged heightened cyber and third‑party risks tied to its global IT and cloud reliance; while common for industrial software players, this adds operational/legal risk that investors should watch. Cyber Risk Disclosure

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Rockwell Automation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $436.00.

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.

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