Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 55,978 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Rockwell Automation worth $61,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROK. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of ROK opened at $386.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $438.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $406.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $376.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 34.92%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.02, for a total value of $191,361.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 2,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,250.02. The trade was a 16.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.48, for a total transaction of $58,762.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,803.76. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 25,531 shares of company stock valued at $10,259,637 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. Stephens increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus raised shares of Rockwell Automation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $418.33.

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.