EFG International AG Buys New Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

EFG International AG purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 25,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,765,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $6,129,376,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $394,905,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,589,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $430.01 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $332.71 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.30, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $460.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $426.97.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis 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 other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 a total of 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.19.

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.