M&T Bank Corp Reduces Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Rockwell Automation by 79.8% in Q4, selling 10,043 shares and leaving the firm with 2,549 shares valued at about $992,000.
• Rockwell beat Q earnings with EPS of $2.75 vs. $2.46 expected and revenue of $2.11B (up 11.9% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 11.40–12.20 EPS (analysts expect ~12.14).
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 51,375 shares worth roughly $20.8M over the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning just 0.76% of the company.

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,043 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $409.13 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $383.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $389.23. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $246.98 and a 1 year high of $438.72. The stock has a market cap of $45.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $458.00 to $448.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Rockwell Automation from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $406.67.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,217.32. The trade was a 32.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total transaction of $5,930,794.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,835,262.32. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,375 shares of company stock worth $20,828,717. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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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