Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 707,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,956 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $254,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,556,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 911.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,720,000 after buying an additional 82,727 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the first quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during 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. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5%

ROK stock opened at $457.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $461.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a PE ratio of 47.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly 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 expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.