Carnegie Investment Counsel Decreases Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 5.4% in the first quarter, selling 3,002 shares and leaving it with 52,539 shares worth about $18.9 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected and revenue of $2.24 billion, with revenue up 11.9% year over year. The company also raised FY2026 guidance to $12.50-$13.10 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share and a new $1 billion stock buyback program, while analysts generally remain positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,539 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,002 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $18,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK traded up $5.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $472.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 565,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $497.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $458.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $417.36. The firm has a market cap of $52.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $466.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,561 shares of company stock worth $4,669,886. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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