Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased 229,482 Rockwell Automation shares worth approximately $113.6 million, giving it about a 0.21% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on ROK, with an average price target of $468.19. Rockwell recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.49 in EPS and $2.31 billion in revenue.
• Rockwell announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, representing a 1.3% annualized yield, and authorized a $1 billion share buyback. Insiders have sold 1,185 shares worth about $529,331 over the past 90 days, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 229,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $113,612,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.21% of Rockwell Automation at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th 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. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $555.00 to $536.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $468.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 10,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ROK opened at $432.44 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $460.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.16. The company has a market cap of $48.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $332.71 and a twelve month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Company 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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