Sei Investments Co. Sells 35,007 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Sei Investments reduced its Rockwell Automation stake by 36.3% in the first quarter, selling 35,007 shares and retaining 61,447 shares valued at approximately $22.1 million. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $3.30, exceeding estimates of $2.88, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $2.24 billion. The company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38.
• ROK shares opened at $471.57, near the analyst consensus target of $469.33; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though recent price targets range widely from $380 to $527.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 36.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 35,007 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $22,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,544,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% 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. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $471.57 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $463.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.98. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.02, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation'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 predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROK. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $469.33.

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.

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.