Gradient Investments LLC Has $21.64 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Gradient Investments reduced its Rockwell Automation position by 7.4% in the second quarter, selling 3,481 shares and retaining 43,711 shares valued at approximately $21.64 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $3.49 on $2.31 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.9% year over year. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy and twelve rate it a Hold, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and a $468.05 target price. Shares opened at $440.95, below the 12-month high of $497.36.

Gradient Investments LLC lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,481 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $21,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,649 shares of company stock valued at $722,119. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $468.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $440.95 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $328.70 and a 12 month high of $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business's 50 day moving average is $464.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.44. The company has a market cap of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The business 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%. Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.73%.

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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