Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 62.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,162 shares during the quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.6%

ROK stock opened at $459.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.30. 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 issued 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 firm 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 was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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 forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation 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.