Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 158,950 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 119.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 158,950 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.26% of Rockwell Automation worth $97,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ROK. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.9% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ROK. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $391.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $410.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. This trade represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $300,030.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $358,795. This trade represents a 45.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 92,075 shares of company stock worth $34,820,361 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 2.7%

ROK stock opened at $378.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.00 and a twelve month high of $398.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $357.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.06%.

Rockwell Automation Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.