Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,234 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $23,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 3,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $428.77 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $448.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during 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 revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, Director Patricia 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 transaction of $474,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,680.55. The trade was a 14.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Christian Rothe sold 590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold 2,711 shares of company stock worth $1,164,880 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $469.14.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc (NYSE: ROK) is a global provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies. The company helps manufacturers and other industrial organizations improve productivity, safety, quality and operational efficiency by connecting control systems, equipment, software and data across production environments.

Its portfolio includes programmable logic controllers, industrial computers, sensors, motor control and drives, motion-control systems, safety equipment, human-machine interfaces and industrial networking technologies.