Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 51.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,112 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. Citigroup lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.1%

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $467.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $462.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 57.38%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares in the company, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% 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 over the last 90 days. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.