Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Buys New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas purchased 8,960 shares of Rockwell Automation worth approximately $4.4 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.49 in EPS and $2.31 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $468.67.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share and authorized a $1 billion stock-repurchase plan, allowing it to buy back up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,436,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the first quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,931,000 after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,410,000 after buying an additional 9,238 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 274,512 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $106,965,000 after buying an additional 44,944 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Argus raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $485.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $468.67.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $449.33 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $49.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $463.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $426.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,649 shares of company stock valued at $722,119. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ROK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source