Garland Capital Management Inc. Sells 8,725 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Garland Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 74.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,725 shares during the quarter. Rockwell Automation makes up approximately 3.1% of Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $357.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.69. 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 fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $361.60.

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

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total transaction of $1,068,180.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,272,903.52. This trade represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $581,700. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,553 shares of company stock valued at $10,361,079. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $363.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rockwell Automation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.94.

About Rockwell Automation

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.