Raiffeisen Bank International AG Has $7.18 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG sharply increased its Rockwell Automation stake by 599.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 18,237 shares valued at about $7.18 million.
• Rockwell Automation 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 announced a $1 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $451.75.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 599.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,630 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 109.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third 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. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $451.75.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 4.1%

ROK opened at $458.15 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $468.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $426.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is owned by 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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