MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Sells 2,802 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 45.9% in the first quarter, selling 2,802 shares and leaving it with 3,303 shares valued at about $1.185 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping expectations; the company also raised FY 2026 guidance to 12.5-13.1 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share and authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $469.33.

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH cut its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 45.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,802 shares during the quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $868,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $461.47 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $460.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $418.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36.

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, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $501.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $469.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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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