Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Invests $19.03 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $19,026,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 7.1% in the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 61,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,613,000 after acquiring an additional 4,086 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $1,556,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 744,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,073,000 after acquiring an additional 127,733 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 911.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,720,000 after acquiring an additional 82,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 580.0% in the fourth quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 4,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $451.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $458.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $428.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $406.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a PE ratio of 47.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.57. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $468.11.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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 $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often 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.

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