L & S Advisors Inc Makes New Investment in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,218,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 720.8% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 399,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,638,000 after buying an additional 350,662 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at $73,908,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the first quarter worth $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 213.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 357,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,263,000 after purchasing an additional 243,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 1,950.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,360,000 after purchasing an additional 192,898 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $385.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $364.75.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 3.9%

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $379.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $353.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.45. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month high of $398.20.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This is an increase from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 72.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total transaction of $127,180.60. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $589,212.04. This trade represents a 17.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 61,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.56, for a total value of $24,159,252.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,841,311.88. The trade was a 42.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 92,075 shares of company stock valued at $34,820,361 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.