797,658 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group purchased 797,658 Rockwell Automation shares worth approximately $394.9 million, giving it a 0.72% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $3.49 and revenue of $2.31 billion, up 7.9% year over year. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $468.19, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $430.01.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 797,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $394,905,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of Rockwell Automation at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $430.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $332.71 and a 1-year high of $497.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $460.57 and its 200 day moving average is $426.97.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in 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 generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is presently 51.73%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.

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