Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Macquarie Group Ltd.

Macquarie Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Markel Corp lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 152,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,816,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,221,000 after buying an additional 5,386 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter worth about $642,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,472,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,212,750,000 after buying an additional 106,641 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rockwell Automation Stock Performance

ROK stock opened at $288.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $33.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.47. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $209.27 and a 52 week high of $348.52.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 40.33%. Rockwell Automation’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 11.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $317.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Barclays downgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $287.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $334.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $375.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Rockwell Automation in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rockwell Automation

In other Rockwell Automation news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of Rockwell Automation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.62, for a total value of $148,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,876 shares in the company, valued at $855,955.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.62, for a total transaction of $148,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $855,955.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.18, for a total transaction of $203,898.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,398.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,327 shares of company stock worth $401,459 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation 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.