Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) SVP Sells $173,612.27 in Stock

Key Points

• Rockwell Automation SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 377 shares on June 4 at an average price of $460.51, totaling about $173,612. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, and he still held 4,437 shares afterward.
• The stock traded slightly higher, rising 0.2% to $462.62, close to its 12-month high of $468.11. The company’s market cap is about $51.48 billion, and the shares have outperformed their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Rockwell’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ROK stock traded up $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $462.62. The stock had a trading volume of 445,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,995. The business has a 50 day moving average of $415.09 and a 200 day moving average of $403.13. The stock has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $468.11.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $449.16.

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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