ABN Amro Investment Solutions Sells 4,098 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 12.3% in the first quarter, selling 4,098 shares and leaving it with 29,181 shares valued at about $10.47 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 topping estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion above expectations; the company also raised FY2026 guidance to 12.5–13.1 EPS.
• The company announced a $1 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $469.33.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions reduced its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,098 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% 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 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $457.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $461.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $421.31. The company has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $469.33.

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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