Concentric Capital Strategies LP Boosts Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Concentric Capital Strategies LP sharply increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 321.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 27,653 shares valued at about $10.8 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping forecasts; the company also raised FY2026 guidance to 12.5–13.1 EPS.
• 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 a consensus target of $454.05.

Concentric Capital Strategies LP raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 321.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,096 shares during the quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $459.20 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $434.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $408.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $474.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a PE ratio of 47.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.05.

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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