Plato Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at about $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,589,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $156,017,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $601,154,000 after acquiring an additional 309,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Rockwell Automation from $555.00 to $536.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $468.67.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $445.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $332.71 and a 52-week high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $463.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.67.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 51.73%.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total transaction of $173,612.27. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,649 shares of company stock valued at $722,119. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.