Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 3,556 Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,649 shares of company stock worth $722,119. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $445.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $463.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $332.71 and a twelve month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.The company 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 business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.67.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.