Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ROK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 350,662 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $73,908,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $63,632,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 213.7% during 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. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1,950.4% during 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. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROK. CICC Research began coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $347.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. The trade was a 24.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,079. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of Rockwell Automation stock opened at $350.22 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $345.33 and a 200 day moving average of $319.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.00 and a 12 month 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, 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 business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current 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.