MCF Advisors LLC Buys 1,139 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 54.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,086,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,499,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 24,235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,429,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,774,800. The trade was a 21.29% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $446.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $404.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $305.44 and a 1-year high of $468.11. The firm has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays upped 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. Mizuho set a $445.00 target price on Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 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 given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $449.16.

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.