Parnassus Investments LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,815 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $25,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canopy Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 24,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,702,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 85.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.50, for a total value of $484,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $671,925. The trade was a 41.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $458.15 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $305.44 and a 52-week high of $468.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $426.76 and its 200 day moving average is $406.56. 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 firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.62, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ROK shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $451.75.

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.