Values First Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 5.7% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $293,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $589,212.04. This trade represents a 17.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total transaction of $499,494.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,178.96. The trade was a 27.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ROK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $347.94.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

ROK stock opened at $347.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $344.56 and its 200-day moving average is $317.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.00 and a 1 year high of $360.92.

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