Madison Asset Management LLC Has $4.13 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 46.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,978 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $601,154,000 after buying an additional 309,316 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $112,451,000 after buying an additional 303,506 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $464.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $461.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $420.83. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The company has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on 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 given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.33.

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.