Forsta AP Fonden Sells 23,100 Shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $7,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 33.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation during the third quarter valued at approximately $912,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James P. Keane sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.00, for a total transaction of $592,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,409,328. This represents a 14.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 26,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,327,482.45. This trade represents a 25.47 % 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 worth $10,832,549 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 0.3 %

ROK stock opened at $278.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $242.81 and a 1-year high of $304.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.36. The company has a market capitalization of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.36.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.64 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $345.00 price target for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.16.

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.