iA Global Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,566,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 75.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 35,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,845,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.00, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $483,728. This trade represents a 39.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.48, for a total transaction of $58,762.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,803.76. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,053 shares of company stock valued at $34,718,919. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Argus upgraded Rockwell Automation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Rockwell Automation from $439.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.12.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $417.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $399.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $367.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $215.00 and a one year high of $429.58.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.38 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

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.