Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Makes New $988,000 Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ROK. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $467.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $462.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.55. The firm has a market cap 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. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $305.44 and a 12-month high of $497.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation’s 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, equities analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 57.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.73, for a total value of $246,251.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,525.72. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. The trade was a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $527.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.33.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.