Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.09%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation updated its FY25 guidance to $8.60-9.80 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance to 8.600-9.800 EPS.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:ROK traded down $4.20 on Friday, reaching $272.89. The stock had a trading volume of 608,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 877,123. The company has a 50-day moving average of $266.71 and a 200 day moving average of $266.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation has a 12-month low of $242.81 and a 12-month high of $312.76.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.31 per share. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $227.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.21.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,151.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.