Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 4,053 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 756,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,053 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.68% of Rockwell Automation worth $271,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth about $1,556,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Mandatum Life Insurance Co Ltd now owns 22,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 169,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,931,000 after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 197.9% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 13,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,410,000 after buying an additional 9,238 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,237,525.72. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Rockwell Automation 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 5,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $462.55 on Monday. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $461.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 37.54%. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 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 buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 given 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 is currently 57.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $365.00 to $378.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.