Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK is Granite Investment Partners LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation accounts for approximately 1.5% of Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $24,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,572,000 after acquiring an additional 891,153 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $601,154,000 after acquiring an additional 309,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,451,000 after acquiring an additional 303,506 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $464.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $456.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $51.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.26, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 57.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,759 shares of company stock valued at $4,748,096. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.71.

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.