Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE decreased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 50.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,635 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,009 shares of company stock worth $5,232,471 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $483.66 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $53.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $449.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $413.85.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. 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 1.1%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $462.82.

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.