Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Stock Position Lifted by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 241.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ROK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 350,662 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,908,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 213.7% in the 1st 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 holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,950.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,788 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,360,000 after purchasing an additional 192,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ROK. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,272,903.52. The trade was a 24.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total value of $8,543,172.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares in the company, valued at $29,366,453.49. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,822 shares of company stock valued at $10,456,644. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK opened at $344.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.41. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $343.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.80.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.