D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,355 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK stock opened at $461.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 57.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation 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.