Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 40.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,234 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $23,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the second quarter worth $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $428.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.18, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $332.71 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 39.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Patricia A. Watson sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.43, for a total value of $474,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,680.55. This trade represents a 14.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Matheus De A. G. Viera Bulho sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.14, for a total value of $168,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,261.38. The trade was a 31.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 2,711 shares of company stock worth $1,164,880 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $501.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $514.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $469.14.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc (NYSE: ROK) is a global provider of industrial automation and digital transformation technologies. The company helps manufacturers and other industrial organizations improve productivity, safety, quality and operational efficiency by connecting control systems, equipment, software and data across production environments.

Its portfolio includes programmable logic controllers, industrial computers, sensors, motor control and drives, motion-control systems, safety equipment, human-machine interfaces and industrial networking technologies.