Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 63,430 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 39.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63,430 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $47,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $555.00 to $536.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.05.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $446.82 on Wednesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $329.10 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $464.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $49.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s 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. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.73%.

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.