Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Purchases New Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,984 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $982,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $430.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $458.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $332.71 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Zacks Research cut Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $555.00 to $536.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.19.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,285 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,904. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.