Holocene Advisors LP Grows Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in Q3 to 989,429 shares (about 0.88% of the company), a holding valued at roughly $345.8 million and ranking as its 21st largest position.
• Rockwell beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.75 EPS vs. $2.46 expected and $2.11 billion in revenue (up 11.9% YoY), and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $11.40–$12.20.
• Insiders have recently sold sizeable positions — 49,228 shares worth about $20.0 million were sold last quarter (insiders now own 0.76% of shares) — while analysts' consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $418.33 price target.

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 989,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 122,437 shares during the period. Rockwell Automation accounts for approximately 0.8% of Holocene Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.88% of Rockwell Automation worth $345,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 468.8% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 91 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $361.02 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $438.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $403.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.85.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ROK. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Rockwell Automation from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $418.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,217.32. The trade was a 32.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 12,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.27, for a total value of $4,891,667.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,932,094. This trade represents a 49.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 49,228 shares of company stock worth $19,992,391 over the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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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