Clearstead Trust LLC Takes $725,000 Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,649 shares of company stock valued at $722,119. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.9%

ROK stock opened at $449.33 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $332.71 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $463.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $49.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 51.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROK. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.67.

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.