Deutsche Bank AG Takes Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 424,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,342,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after buying an additional 114,469 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,943,844,000 after buying an additional 202,705 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,136,801,000 after acquiring an additional 276,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $818,986,000 after acquiring an additional 24,719 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $468.67.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $433.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.80. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 39.83% and a net margin of 13.39%.Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board 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 reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $1.38 per share. 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 currently 51.73%.

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.