HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 3,965 Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,784,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,649 shares of company stock worth $722,119 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $449.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $332.71 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $463.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.49.

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

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 51.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ROK. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.