Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Acquires Shares of 2,754 Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,556,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 26.9% in the first quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,931,000 after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 197.9% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,410,000 after buying an additional 9,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $467.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.98 billion, a PE ratio of 48.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $462.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $422.55.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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, analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 9th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John M. Miller sold 1,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.02, for a total value of $449,025.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,392,102.30. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.43, for a total value of $1,133,039.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $404.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $469.33.

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.