Elefante Mark B Acquires Shares of 16,181 Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Elefante Mark B acquired 16,181 Rockwell Automation shares worth approximately $8.0 million, making ROK its 10th-largest holding and representing 3.4% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation reported quarterly EPS of $3.49 and revenue of $2.31 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 7.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $468.19.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, yielding about 1.3%, and authorized a $1.0 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Elefante Mark B 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 16,181 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $8,011,000. Rockwell Automation comprises about 3.4% of Elefante Mark B's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $468.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 0.1%

Shares of ROK opened at $437.50 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $461.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.98. The company has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 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 declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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