Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $24.21 Million Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation makes up about 1.5% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $24,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $464.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $456.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.66 billion, a PE ratio of 48.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents 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 10,759 shares of company stock valued at $4,748,096. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.71.

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.