Diversified Trust Co Grows Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 32.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $2,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,669,781,000 after buying an additional 207,448 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $950,744,000 after acquiring an additional 48,105 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at $368,575,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $439.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $440.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $417.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.07, for a total transaction of $410,111.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,420,863.47. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 2,370 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.45, for a total transaction of $956,176.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,964 shares in the company, valued at $792,375.80. This trade represents a 54.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,253 shares of company stock worth $34,405,319. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $393.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $415.89. The firm has a market cap of $44.18 billion, a PE ratio of 51.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $385.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.88.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.06%.

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.