The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $32,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $481.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36. The firm has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.03, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% 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. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.