BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 8,724 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,724 shares and leaving it with 154,260 shares valued at about $60 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $3.30 EPS versus the $2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and average target price of $449.16, while shares recently traded around $463.23.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,260 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,724 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.14% of Rockwell Automation worth $60,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $615,596,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $156,017,000. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $672,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $463.23 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.06. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $465.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a PE ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation'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. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,713 shares of company stock worth $5,066,717. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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