Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $8,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $1,001,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the first quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 197.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 9,238 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of ROK opened at $430.73 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $332.71 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $458.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.31.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 51.73%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total transaction of $474,573.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,680.55. The trade was a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,285 shares of company stock worth $1,003,904. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

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.