Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Purchased by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 216.5% in Q4, adding 10,947 shares to hold 16,003 shares worth about $6.23 million, and institutional investors now own 75.75% of the stock.
• Rockwell beat Q4 expectations with EPS $2.75 vs. $2.46 and revenue of $2.11B (up 11.9% YoY), and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $11.40–$12.20 (analysts forecast ~ $12.14).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 (annualized $5.52, yield ~1.4%), with an ex-dividend date of May 18 and payment on June 10.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 216.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,003 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,947 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth about $868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:ROK opened at $408.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.16. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $250.32 and a one year high of $438.72. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $383.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $389.58. The stock has a market cap of $45.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.56.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 63.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total value of $5,930,794.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,835,262.32. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,217.32. This trade represents a 32.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,375 shares of company stock valued at $20,828,717. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $458.00 to $448.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Rockwell Automation from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $406.67.

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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