MCF Advisors LLC Raises Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 54.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $28,086,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $2,499,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $265,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 24,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,429,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total transaction of $484,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $671,925. The trade was a 41.89% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $449.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.4%

ROK opened at $446.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $418.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $404.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $468.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

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.