Stephens Inc. AR Has $6.57 Million Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR cut its Rockwell Automation stake by 19.8% in the first quarter, selling 4,529 shares and ending with 18,295 shares worth about $6.57 million.
• Rockwell Automation beat earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, reporting $3.30 EPS on $2.24 billion in revenue, with revenue up 11.9% year over year.
• The company backed shareholder returns with a dividend and buyback, announcing a $1.38 quarterly dividend and authorizing a $1 billion share repurchase program.

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,295 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,529 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $6,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth about $868,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $469.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $52.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 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. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $455.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $415.96.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company 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 company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors 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 generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Evercore lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $466.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $480,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,774,800. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This trade represents a 16.60% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 10,759 shares of company stock worth $4,748,096. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation 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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