Morningstar Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 34.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,168 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake 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 worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total transaction of $269,748.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,994,786.46. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 in the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $462.55 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $461.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $422.04. The company has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.08, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.33.

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.