Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,202 Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $595,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,427,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,411,000. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,536,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $8,773,000. Finally, Biondo Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $210,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1%

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $437.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $332.71 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $461.98 and a 200-day moving average of $426.98.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.