Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Purchased by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 274,512 shares valued at about $107 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $3.30 versus estimates of $2.88 and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year.
• The company announced a $1 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts’ consensus view remains a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $454.05.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 274,512 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,944 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.24% of Rockwell Automation worth $106,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 61,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $21,613,000 after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,556,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 744,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $291,073,000 after acquiring an additional 127,733 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 911.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,720,000 after acquiring an additional 82,727 shares during the period. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 580.0% in the 4th quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 4,710 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ROK shares. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $454.05.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $480,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,774,800. The trade was a 21.29% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 over the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $474.16 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $438.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $409.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.57. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $475.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. 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. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Rockwell Automation

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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