Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $4.84 Million Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 62.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,302 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $441.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $328.70 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $465.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $425.33.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 51.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,649 shares of company stock worth $722,119 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.05.

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.