Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 11.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,819,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $470,091,000 after purchasing an additional 191,370 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,579,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,229,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 2.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,448,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $374,176,000 after buying an additional 30,837 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,396,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $360,777,000 after buying an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Rockwell Automation by 1.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,170,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,307,000 after buying an additional 11,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cyril Perducat sold 1,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.08, for a total value of $499,494.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,178.96. This represents a 27.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,553 shares of company stock worth $10,361,079. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $320.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up previously from $350.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $347.94.

Rockwell Automation Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:ROK opened at $350.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.11, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.55. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.00 and a 12-month high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced 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. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 12.03%.The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Rockwell Automation’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

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.