The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires New Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 78,774 Rockwell Automation shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $39 million. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation reported quarterly earnings of $3.49 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.38, while revenue rose 7.9% year over year to $2.31 billion. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $468.19. Recent insider sales totaled 1,185 shares worth about $529,331, conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 78,774 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $38,997,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Rockwell Automation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,129,376,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $300,589,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $210,342,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. This represents a 5.35% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.7%

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $432.44 on Thursday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $332.71 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $460.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.16.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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 paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Rockwell Automation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $468.19.

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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