Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 44,944 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 274,512 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,944 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $106,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ROK. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $462.82.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,009 shares of company stock worth $5,232,471. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $471.99 on Friday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $52.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $452.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

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

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.