Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Increases Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 100.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.1% in the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Veena M. Lakkundi sold 579 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.86, for a total value of $154,511.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,151.36. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $313.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ROK opened at $278.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $288.60 and its 200 day moving average is $275.36. The stock has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $304.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.