Heron Bay Capital Management Purchases New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Heron Bay Capital Management acquired 47,617 shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter, worth approximately $23.6 million and representing 2.1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.49 in EPS and $2.31 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.9% year over year. The company set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance at $13.00–$13.30.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $468.19 price target, while Rockwell authorized a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38, or $5.52 annually.

Heron Bay Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 47,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $23,574,000. Rockwell Automation makes up 2.1% of Heron Bay Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth approximately $868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered Rockwell Automation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $437.50 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $332.71 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $461.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.00. The stock has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 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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