The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys New Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 78,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,997,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $432.44 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $332.71 and a 12-month high of $497.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $460.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.19.

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.