Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 145.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,496 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 61,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,556,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 744,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,073,000 after purchasing an additional 127,733 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 911.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,720,000 after purchasing an additional 82,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 580.0% in the 4th quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 4,710 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $458.66 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $428.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $406.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.57. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $468.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 target price on the stock. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $451.75.

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.