Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $440.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $464.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.44. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $328.70 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $485.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.05.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the 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 owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,649 shares of company stock worth $722,119 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Rockwell Automation

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.