Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Invests $1.74 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elefante Mark B acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter worth $8,011,000. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter valued at $809,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $7,992,000. Welch Capital Partners LLC NY bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at $345,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,860,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK opened at $429.60 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $332.71 and a 1-year high of $497.36. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $461.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business 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 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 51.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total transaction of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, 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 value of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 1,185 shares of company stock worth $529,331 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $485.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.19.

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.