First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 12,643 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,643 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Rockwell Automation worth $33,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $601,154,000 after purchasing an additional 309,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,451,000 after purchasing an additional 303,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $471.57 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a market cap of $52.47 billion, a PE ratio of 49.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $463.54 and a 200-day moving average of $422.98. 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 (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation 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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