Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $19.71 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,585 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $19,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $462.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $461.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.04. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.08, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

About Rockwell Automation

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.