Rubicon Advisors GP Takes $1.24 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Rubicon Advisors GP initiated a new position in Rockwell Automation, buying 3,189 shares worth about $1.24 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents 1.1% of Rubicon’s portfolio and its 21st-largest holding.
• Rockwell Automation’s recent earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $3.30 versus the $2.88 estimate and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year. The company also raised its FY2026 guidance to 12.5–13.1 EPS.
• The company announced a $1 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share payable on September 10. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $454.05.

Rubicon Advisors GP bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,241,000. Rockwell Automation comprises 1.1% of Rubicon Advisors GP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $454.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,774,800. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. The trade was a 15.13% 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. Insiders sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $474.16 on Friday. The stock 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $438.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $409.59. 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 $475.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's 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 authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.

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.