Greenleaf Trust Increases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 73.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,669,781,000 after buying an additional 207,448 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $950,744,000 after acquiring an additional 48,105 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $368,575,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $392.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $417.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 2.0%

ROK opened at $412.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.91, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $415.89.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 61,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.56, for a total value of $24,159,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,841,311.88. This represents a 42.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 2,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.45, for a total transaction of $956,176.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $792,375.80. This trade represents a 54.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,053 shares of company stock worth $34,718,919. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.