Kentucky Retirement Systems Buys 4,345 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its Rockwell Automation stake by 61.2% in the first quarter, buying 4,345 shares to own 11,449 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Rockwell receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $469.33. Recent targets range as high as $555.
• Rockwell exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.30 in EPS and $2.24 billion in revenue, while also announcing a $1.38 quarterly dividend and a $1 billion share-repurchase program.

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 61.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,345 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson started coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $471.20 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $464.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $423.80. The company has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share 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 business 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 earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total value of $269,748.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,994,786.46. This represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.