Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Position Reduced by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,756 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after buying an additional 114,469 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,793,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,675,446,000 after purchasing an additional 42,809 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 3.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,423,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $497,538,000 after purchasing an additional 49,477 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 12.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,235,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $431,945,000 after purchasing an additional 132,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 14.1% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 989,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $345,835,000 after purchasing an additional 122,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ROK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $449.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,774,800. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,713 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,717. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $456.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $404.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $400.61. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $463.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.44, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.56. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

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.