Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $14,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,556,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.9% in 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 buying an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,931,000 after acquiring an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after acquiring an additional 9,238 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:ROK opened at $471.57 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $52.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $463.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.98.

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 company 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%.Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the 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 directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total transaction of $269,748.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,994,786.46. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.