Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 10,599 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 66.2% in the first quarter, selling 10,599 shares and leaving it with 5,404 shares valued at about $1.94 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus the $2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year.
• The company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 66.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,404 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,599 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $472.91 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $458.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $417.50. The stock has a market cap of $52.62 billion, a PE ratio of 49.16, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $466.71.

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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