Covea Finance Increases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Covea Finance grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $23,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,058,406 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,669,781,000 after buying an additional 207,448 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,428 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $950,744,000 after acquiring an additional 48,105 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $470,091,000 after acquiring an additional 191,370 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter worth about $368,575,000. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ROK stock opened at $398.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $415.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $382.34 and its 200 day moving average is $355.87.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.40. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 32.69% and a net margin of 10.42%.The firm had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Rockwell Automation has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.200-12.200 EPS. Research analysts expect that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Rockwell Automation’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is 72.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $329.00 to $448.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $392.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other news, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.05, for a total transaction of $323,248.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,355,208.90. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.92, for a total transaction of $92,039.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $827,151.36. The trade was a 10.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,253 shares of company stock worth $34,405,319. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.