Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 294.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 429,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 320,627 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $142,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in Rockwell Automation by 4.4% during the second quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 4.9% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ROK shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $391.00 price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $581,700. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 61,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,841,311.88. This represents a 42.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,275 shares of company stock valued at $33,125,505. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Shares of ROK opened at $403.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $346.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $406.44. The stock has a market cap of $45.28 billion, a PE ratio of 52.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.50.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.06%.

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.