Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,525 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 899 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ROK. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Rockwell Automation in the fourth quarter valued at $281,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 128.7% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in Rockwell Automation during the first quarter worth about $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Isaac Woods sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $87,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,700. This trade represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total value of $8,543,172.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 83,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock valued at $11,191,812. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ROK. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $392.00 price target (up previously from $371.00) on shares of Rockwell Automation in a report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Rockwell Automation from $357.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Rockwell Automation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Price Performance

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $343.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $345.37 and a 200-day moving average of $308.92. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.00 and a 52-week high of $360.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.41.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

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.