SEB Asset Management AB Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 170,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,347,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Regents Gate Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $2,625,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 329,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,423,000 after buying an additional 21,840 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 21,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,619,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.5% during the first quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,249,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 9.5% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 250,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $89,750,000 after acquiring an additional 21,679 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.5%

ROK stock opened at $461.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.33.

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.