Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 3,271 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 27,244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $13,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at about $1,001,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,931,000 after purchasing an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 9,238 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $424.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $457.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $468.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total value of $474,573.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,680.55. This trade represents a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,067 shares of company stock valued at $904,422. Corporate 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.