Stephens Inc. AR Sells 4,529 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,529 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,556,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 744,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,073,000 after purchasing an additional 127,733 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 911.0% in the fourth 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. Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 580.0% in the 4th quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after buying an additional 4,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $469.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.19 billion, a PE ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.54. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $455.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.96. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.38 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,759 shares of company stock valued at $4,748,096. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Evercore raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.71.

About Rockwell Automation

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.