HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 8,216 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 176,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,216 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $87,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ROK. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 50,536.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 84,037,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,605,459,000 after acquiring an additional 83,871,888 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,129,376,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $394,905,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total value of $474,573.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,680.55. This represents a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.96, for a total value of $199,390.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,267 shares in the company, valued at $540,958.32. This trade represents a 26.93% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,557 shares of company stock valued at $1,098,256. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $434.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $332.71 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36. The stock has a market cap of $48.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $452.99 and a 200-day moving average of $428.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Evercore set a $485.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $469.14.

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.