Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret Sells 24,400 Shares of Stock

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) CEO Blake Moret sold 24,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total transaction of $8,543,172.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,366,453.49. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

NYSE:ROK opened at $344.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $345.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.90. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.00 and a fifty-two week high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rockwell Automation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 42,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,721,000 after purchasing an additional 5,249 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,604,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ROK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $381.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $392.00 price target (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.16.

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.