Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Stock Holdings Increased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 48.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total value of $5,930,794.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $5,835,262.32. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,217.32. This represents a 32.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,375 shares of company stock worth $20,828,717. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $407.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.98. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $239.14 and a 52-week high of $438.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $458.00 to $448.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.67.

Rockwell Automation 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.