Korea Investment CORP Invests $57 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 115,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,001,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 377 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.51, for a total value of $173,612.27. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,282.87. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christian E. Rothe sold 590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.30, for a total value of $256,237.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,314.70. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,185 shares of company stock valued at $529,331 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $468.19.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ROK opened at $437.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $461.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $332.71 and a 12-month high of $497.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.11. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current 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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 51.73%.

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.