Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 52.4% in the first quarter, leaving it with 3,258 shares valued at about $1.17 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 75.75% of Rockwell Automation shares; several firms, including Norges Bank and Invesco, added positions.
• Rockwell posted strong results and shareholder returns, beating earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, while also announcing a $1 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,258 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,593 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $601,154,000 after purchasing an additional 309,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,451,000 after purchasing an additional 303,506 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Evercore lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $469.33.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock worth $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $464.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $461.51 and a 200-day moving average of $420.83. 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 $305.44 and a 1-year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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