Trust Co. of Vermont Takes $1.64 Million Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,572,000 after purchasing an additional 891,153 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth about $300,589,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth about $156,017,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.67.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:ROK opened at $433.41 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $463.07 and a 200-day moving average of $426.80. The stock has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. 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. Equities analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 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.