Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,126 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of ROK opened at $461.50 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $461.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total value of $269,748.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,994,786.46. This trade represents a 11.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.