BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 7,082 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 58% in the first quarter, selling 7,082 shares and leaving it with 5,136 shares worth about $1.84 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 11.9% year over year.
• The company announced a $1 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $454.05.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 58.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,136 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,082 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after buying an additional 114,469 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,943,844,000 after buying an additional 202,705 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,136,801,000 after acquiring an additional 276,021 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $818,986,000 after acquiring an additional 24,719 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 4.4%

ROK opened at $457.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $441.05 and its 200 day moving average is $410.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $479.59.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,925. The trade was a 41.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $480,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,774,800. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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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