Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Position Reduced by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $10,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 11.8% in 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 buying an additional 191,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $374,176,000 after purchasing an additional 30,837 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% during the first 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 valued at $302,307,000 after purchasing an additional 11,849 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 price target on Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.44, for a total value of $127,180.60. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,212.04. This represents a 17.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total value of $8,543,172.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,366,453.49. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

NYSE ROK opened at $339.96 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $345.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.05. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share 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.