Ancora Advisors LLC Takes $2.49 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired a new $2.49 million position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell reported quarterly EPS of $3.49, beating estimates of $3.38, while revenue rose 7.9% year over year to $2.31 billion. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $13.00–$13.30.
• The board authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38, equivalent to a 1.3% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $468.19.

Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,023 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,487,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $432.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $48.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $332.71 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $460.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.16.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The company 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 company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.73%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $485.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $468.19.

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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