Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors trimmed its Rockwell Automation stake by 1.5%, selling 2,990 shares to hold 192,763 shares (0.17% of the company) valued at about $75.0M, which represents 3.1% of the firm's portfolio and is its 11th largest position.
• Quarterly results: Rockwell beat estimates with $2.75 EPS versus $2.46 expected and reported $2.11B in revenue (up 11.9% YoY), and it set FY2026 guidance of $11.40–$12.20 EPS.
• Insider selling and analyst moves: insiders sold 51,375 shares (~$20.8M) in the last 90 days, while several analysts trimmed price targets leaving a MarketBeat average target of $406.67 and an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,990 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation accounts for 3.1% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.17% of Rockwell Automation worth $74,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 900.0% in the third quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 3.2%

ROK opened at $415.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a PE ratio of 47.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $382.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $385.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $222.06 and a 12-month high of $438.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th 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, May 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 12,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.27, for a total value of $4,891,667.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,932,094. This trade represents a 49.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total transaction of $812,599.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,217.32. The trade was a 32.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,375 shares of company stock worth $20,828,717. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.67.

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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