HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 38.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,205 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $5,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 7.1% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 61,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,613,000 after buying an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 180.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,042,000 after buying an additional 3,759 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $777,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 796.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 97,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,342,000 after acquiring an additional 86,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 14,465 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.01, for a total value of $5,930,794.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,835,262.32. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rebecca W. House sold 12,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.27, for a total transaction of $4,891,667.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,932,094. This trade represents a 49.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,228 shares of company stock worth $19,992,391. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $358.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $438.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $404.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $380.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.29. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 34.92% and a net margin of 11.56%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.400-12.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $430.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $418.33.

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.