Iyo Bank Ltd. Invests $10.57 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Iyo Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,570,000. Rockwell Automation accounts for about 3.2% of Iyo Bank Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth about $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.19.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ROK opened at $437.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $461.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $427.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G 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.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.