Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,669,781,000 after purchasing an additional 207,448 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $950,744,000 after purchasing an additional 48,105 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at about $368,575,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,006,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $334,354,000 after buying an additional 12,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 128.9% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 866,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,989,000 after buying an additional 488,262 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $410.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $415.89. The company has a market cap of $46.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $391.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $361.84.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ROK. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $392.00 to $402.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.13.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 61,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.56, for a total value of $24,159,252.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,841,311.88. This represents a 42.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 1,387 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.03, for a total value of $557,615.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 4,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,763.42. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 88,053 shares of company stock worth $34,718,919. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.