Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.05 Million in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter, buying 5,700 shares worth about $2.05 million.
• Rockwell Automation posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.30 beating estimates and revenue of $2.24 billion topping expectations. The company also raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to 12.50–13.10.
• The board authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share, payable September 10. Meanwhile, analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a $457.50 price target.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,046,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 142.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $868,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Christopher Nardecchia sold 2,538 shares of Rockwell Automation 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,353,591.76. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,392,102.30. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,308 shares of company stock valued at $5,339,812 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $495.77 on Wednesday. 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 $55.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average price is $448.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $413.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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, sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation declared 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 repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

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 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 1.1%. Rockwell Automation's payout ratio is 57.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $448.00 to $487.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $445.00 price target on Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $465.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $457.50.

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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