2,022 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Acquired by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,527,249,000 after purchasing an additional 114,469 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,943,844,000 after buying an additional 202,705 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,133,397,000 after buying an additional 17,855 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,136,801,000 after acquiring an additional 276,021 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $818,986,000 after acquiring an additional 24,719 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $445.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $463.60 and its 200 day moving average is $426.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $332.71 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,649 shares of company stock valued at $722,119 over the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ROK shares. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.67.

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.