Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 181.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Rockwell Automation by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 455.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ROK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Rockwell Automation from $288.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.16.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ROK stock 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.36. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $304.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 3,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $961,695.36. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Isaac Woods sold 895 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.72, for a total transaction of $245,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,114.56. This represents a 42.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,436 shares of company stock valued at $10,832,549 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.