Groupe la Francaise Acquires 20,115 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Groupe la Française increased its Rockwell Automation position by 1,241.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 20,115 additional shares and ending with 21,735 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.75% of the company.
• Rockwell Automation reported a quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $3.30 versus the $2.88 consensus and revenue of $2.24 billion, up 11.9% year over year. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $12.50–$13.10.
• The board authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 2% of outstanding shares, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, or a 1.1% annualized yield.

Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 1,241.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,735 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,115 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $615,596,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 5,925.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 906,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $352,572,000 after buying an additional 891,153 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth $156,017,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,545,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $601,154,000 after buying an additional 309,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,666.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $112,451,000 after buying an additional 303,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Terry L. Riesterer sold 4,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.97, for a total transaction of $1,818,727.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 134 shares in the company, valued at $60,563.98. This trade represents a 96.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $481.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.54. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $305.44 and a twelve month high of $497.36. The company's fifty day moving average is $465.17 and its 200 day moving average is $424.20. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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 $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 1.1%. Rockwell Automation's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Rockwell Automation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rockwell Automation from $360.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $440.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $500.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $469.33.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.