Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Grows Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,585 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $19,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $601,154,000 after buying an additional 309,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,451,000 after buying an additional 303,506 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $462.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $461.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation 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.