Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $9.20 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management sharply increased its stake in Rockwell Automation during Q1, boosting holdings by 1,886% to 25,620 shares valued at about $9.2 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 topping estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion beating expectations, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a $1 billion stock buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $469.33.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1,886.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 24,330 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $9,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $461.50 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $461.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.84. The stock has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is presently 57.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $469.33.

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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