Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $17,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew 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. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 10,561 shares of company stock worth $4,669,886 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $467.45 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $457.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $416.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 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. Shareholders 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 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.