Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 27.3% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 7,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 137.3% in the 1st quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 94,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,954,000 after acquiring an additional 12,643 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $467.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $462.56 and its 200 day moving average is $422.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

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.