Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK Plc reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 54.2% in the first quarter, selling 94,265 shares and ending with 79,522 shares worth about $28.5 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on the stock, with Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and KeyCorp all raising price targets; the consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with a $454.05 target.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a $1 billion share buyback plus a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 54.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 94,265 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.07% of Rockwell Automation worth $28,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in 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 note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $474.16 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $438.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $409.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $475.92. The firm has a market cap of $52.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.29, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Rockwell Automation's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

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

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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