Commerce Bank Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Commerce Bank bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,383,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during 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. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:ROK opened at $437.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $461.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $427.00.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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, August 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $485.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.