Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. opened a new position in Rockwell Automation, buying 400,120 shares valued at about $156 million, giving it roughly a 0.36% stake in the company.
• Several other large institutional investors also increased their holdings, and overall 75.75% of Rockwell Automation’s stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Rockwell reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected and revenue of $2.24 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 400,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $156,017,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.36% of Rockwell Automation at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,527,249,000 after purchasing an additional 114,469 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,793,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,675,446,000 after purchasing an additional 42,809 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,133,397,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,423,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $497,538,000 after purchasing an additional 49,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,235,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $431,945,000 after purchasing an additional 132,637 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% 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. Insiders have sold 11,713 shares of company stock worth $5,066,717 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ROK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $451.65 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $408.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $401.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $463.48.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

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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