Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Grows Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 54.2% in the first quarter, ending with 36,211 shares valued at about $13.0 million.
• Several analysts have turned more positive on the stock, with recent price targets ranging up to $525 and MarketBeat showing a Moderate Buy consensus with a $469.33 average target.
• Rockwell Automation reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend plus a $1 billion share repurchase program.

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd raised its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 54.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,727 shares during the quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd's holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $12,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ROK. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $501.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on Rockwell Automation from $470.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $469.33.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, SVP Matthew W. Fordenwalt sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.58, for a total transaction of $269,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,994,786.46. The trade was a 11.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 9,361 shares of company stock valued at $4,189,886 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $462.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $461.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.04. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $305.44 and a fifty-two week high of $497.36. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.54. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.500-13.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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 57.38%.

Rockwell Automation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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