Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 165,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,238 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $59,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% 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 three months, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:ROK opened at $471.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 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 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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 $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 dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

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.