Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 324,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Rockwell Automation worth $113,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ROK. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $418.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE ROK opened at $373.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $42.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.53. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $438.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $405.65 and a 200-day moving average of $380.60.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total value of $5,930,794.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,835,262.32. This trade represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.37, for a total value of $812,599.45. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,217.32. This trade represents a 32.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,228 shares of company stock worth $19,992,391. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.