Parnassus Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $25,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $451.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $458.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $468.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $426.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.56.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. 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 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.