Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys 15,496 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its Rockwell Automation stake by 145.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 15,496 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 26,123 shares worth about $10.16 million.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping forecasts; the company also raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to 12.50–13.10.
• The company announced a $1.0 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $451.75.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 145.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,123 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,496 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 88 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 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 given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $451.75.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $458.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $428.54 and a 200-day moving average of $406.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $468.11. The firm has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.57.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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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