Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Bought by Man Group plc

Man Group plc raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,760 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.29% of Rockwell Automation worth $125,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.1% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total transaction of $484,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,925. This trade represents a 41.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $459.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $434.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $408.56. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $474.99.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

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.