Norges Bank Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Rockwell Automation, buying 1,582,224 shares valued at about $615.6 million, or roughly 1.41% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected fiscal Q2 results, with EPS of $3.30 versus estimates of $2.88 and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share payable June 10, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $449.16.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,582,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $615,596,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.41% of Rockwell Automation at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after acquiring an additional 114,469 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,793,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,675,446,000 after acquiring an additional 42,809 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,133,397,000 after acquiring an additional 17,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,423,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $497,538,000 after acquiring an additional 49,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,235,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $431,945,000 after acquiring an additional 132,637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company'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 transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares in the company, valued at $671,925. This trade represents a 41.89% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders have sold 11,713 shares of company stock worth $5,066,717. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.1%

ROK stock opened at $451.65 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $463.48. The business's 50 day moving average price is $408.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $401.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. The business'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. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 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 Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is 57.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ROK. Weiss Ratings raised Rockwell Automation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $449.16.

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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