Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $352.57 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 906,192 shares valued at about $352.6 million.
• Rockwell Automation recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 versus $2.88 expected and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year. The company also issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 12.50 to 13.10.
• The stock has attracted continued analyst support, with several firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. Rockwell also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, payable June 10.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 5,925.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 891,153 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.81% of Rockwell Automation worth $352,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first 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 second quarter valued at about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 17,407 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.61, for a total transaction of $7,043,046.27. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,314 shares in the company, valued at $1,340,877.54. The trade was a 84.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,217.32. This trade represents a 32.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 59,087 shares of company stock worth $24,296,483 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $448.86 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $298.70 and a 1 year high of $463.48. The stock has a market cap of $49.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $392.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $395.94.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation'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. On average, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 57.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROK. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stephens raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to 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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