Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management increased its Rockwell Automation stake by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 115,163 shares valued at about $44.8 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year.
• The company announced a $1 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $454.05.

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,584 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Rockwell Automation worth $44,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 1.5%

ROK stock opened at $459.20 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $434.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.56. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $474.99. The company has a market cap of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.57. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 over the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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