Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 159.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,954 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total value of $474,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,680.55. This represents a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,285 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,904. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Evercore set a $485.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, HSBC boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $430.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $458.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.