Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 50.2% in the first quarter, selling 11,635 shares and leaving it with 11,523 shares valued at about $4.1 million.
• Rockwell Automation posted strong quarterly results, with earnings of $3.30 per share and revenue of $2.24 billion, both above analyst estimates, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year.
• The company also boosted shareholder returns through a $1 billion stock repurchase plan and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share; meanwhile, analysts currently have an average Hold rating with a $462.82 price target.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE decreased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 50.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,635 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $601,154,000 after buying an additional 309,316 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $112,451,000 after buying an additional 303,506 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $462.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 12,009 shares of company stock valued at $5,232,471. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $483.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.54. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $449.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.85. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $305.44 and a 12 month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. 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 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ROK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.