274 Shares in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Acquired by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its position in Rockwell Automation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Rockwell Automation by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE ROK opened at $278.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a one year low of $242.81 and a one year high of $304.29. The company has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 30.42%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total transaction of $83,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.63, for a total transaction of $7,973,421.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,115 shares in the company, valued at $23,327,482.45. This represents a 25.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,436 shares of company stock worth $10,832,549 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.