Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 48.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 132,074 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $145,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price objective on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $495.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:ROK opened at $461.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $461.27 and a 200 day moving average of $419.67. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $305.44 and a 52 week high of $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.54.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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

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.