Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.35 EPS

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35, Briefing.com reports. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.22% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation updated its FY 2024 guidance to 10.000-11.000 EPS.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.80. 472,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,542. Rockwell Automation has a twelve month low of $252.11 and a twelve month high of $348.52. The firm has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $281.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 47.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $322.00 to $316.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $324.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,070. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Robert L. Buttermore sold 201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.50, for a total transaction of $55,777.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,311 shares in the company, valued at $641,302.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,240 shares of company stock worth $4,891,324 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.