Rokos Capital Management LLP Acquires New Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Rokos Capital Management acquired 10,970 Rockwell Automation shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $3.94 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell reported quarterly EPS of $3.30, exceeding the $2.88 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $2.24 billion. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $469.33, close to the stock’s reported $467.12 opening price; targets range from $380 to $555.

Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $467.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.56, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $462.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.55. 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 (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share 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%. The business's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $469.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% 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 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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