Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 39.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 296,705 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $166,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ROK. 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 on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $471.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 48.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $464.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.