Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Acquired by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 156.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,144 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after purchasing an additional 114,469 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,943,844,000 after purchasing an additional 202,705 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,136,801,000 after buying an additional 276,021 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $818,986,000 after buying an additional 24,719 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total transaction of $269,748.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,994,786.46. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $460.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a PE ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $460.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $417.93.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend 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%.

About Rockwell Automation

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.