National Pension Service Sells 18,052 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,052 shares and leaving it with 143,099 shares worth about $55.7 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.30 per share beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 11.9% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with several price targets raised and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,052 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Rockwell Automation worth $55,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $868,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $451.65 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $463.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $401.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid 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 is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $449.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,713 shares of company stock worth $5,066,717 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently 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.

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