9,720 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Acquired by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $472.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $52.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $305.44 and a 1 year high of $497.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $458.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $417.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $466.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $501.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.71.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 2,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total transaction of $449,025.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% 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 have sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.