Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 2.5%

ROK stock opened at $433.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $463.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.80. 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 $48.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% 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. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $555.00 to $536.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.67.

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.