SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 1,409 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 90,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,409 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $32,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $868,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $457.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $441.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $410.74. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $479.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $50.88 billion, a PE ratio of 47.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 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 initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $454.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.