Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 1,960 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.08% of Rockwell Automation worth $31,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,206,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,527,249,000 after acquiring an additional 114,469 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,996,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,943,844,000 after purchasing an additional 202,705 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,924,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,133,397,000 after purchasing an additional 17,855 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,921,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,136,801,000 after purchasing an additional 276,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,104,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $818,986,000 after purchasing an additional 24,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Rockwell Automation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $445.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.50.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $495.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $305.44 and a one year high of $497.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $448.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.35. The stock has a market cap of $55.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.54, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.57.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total transaction of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,353,591.76. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total value of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,563.98. This represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.