Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,443 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $4,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $4,337,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Vinland Capital Management Gestora de Recursos LTDA. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $159,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.9%

ROK opened at $478.09 on Tuesday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $479.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $439.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.20 billion, a PE ratio of 49.70, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Rockwell Automation from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total transaction of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock worth $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.