Covea Finance Boosts Stake in Rockwell Automation, Inc. $ROK

Key Points

• Covea Finance has increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 10%, now owning approximately 64,709 shares valued at $21.49 million.
• Rockwell Automation's latest earnings report showed a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year, with an EPS of $2.82, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Insiders at Rockwell Automation, including the CEO and a director, have sold significant amounts of stock recently, indicating a 22.54% and 24.61% reduction in their respective holdings.

Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK - Free Report) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,886 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance owned about 0.06% of Rockwell Automation worth $21,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rockwell Automation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Rockwell Automation by 59.6% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 75.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rockwell Automation Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ROK opened at $345.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $346.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.00 and a 1-year high of $360.92.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 30.14%. Rockwell Automation's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rockwell Automation

In other news, Director James P. Keane sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.06, for a total value of $1,068,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,903.52. This trade represents a 24.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 24,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.13, for a total transaction 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 $29,366,453.49. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,922 shares of company stock worth $11,191,812 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ROK. Bank of America raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $370.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $345.00 target price on shares of Rockwell Automation and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $371.00 to $363.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.16.

Rockwell Automation Company 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.

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